RETIRED SERGEANT Tom Barrett said he came across a dome-shaped black polythene tent in the woods and saw a man holding a long gun and another kneeling man also holding a gun. He alerted his superior, who shouted a warning. He then heard one shot and then a burst of heavy gunfire.
He was giving evidence on the third day of the trial of Brendan “Bik” McFarlane, who has pleaded not guilty to falsely imprisoning Don Tidey on dates unknown between November 24th and December 16th, 1983.
Sgt Francis Smith, who was a trainee garda in 1983, said he saw a man dressed in military clothing cleaning a rifle with a white cloth. He called out “soldier, answer my call”, but there was no response.
At this stage, recruit Garda Gary Sheehan shouted: “Is that you Frank?” and he replied “yes.” “I asked him if he had a soldier with him and he replied ‘we have’. At that stage, there were calls to the rear. There were calls to get out of the wood and I took cover by lying on the ground. There was intense automatic gunfire and some loud bangs as well.”
Sgt Smith said shortly afterwards, a man lying on the ground beckoned to him and Private Patrick McLaughlin. “He looked like one of the criminals that started the gunfire in the wood,” he said. Private McLaughlin covered him with his rifle and the man said he was Don Tidey. They were unsure about his identity and took him to other gardaí, who identified him as Mr Tidey.
Sgt Joseph O’Connor, a trainee, said he heard recruit Garda Frank Smith talking to recruit Garda Sheehan, then he heard gunfire. “I heard a groan or grunt from where Garda Sheehan had been.”
William O’Brien, a retired corporal in the Defence Forces, said he cocked his rifle after he heard gunfire and explosions. He then saw an Army corporal coming out of the wood with his hands over his head followed by two gunmen, armed with an Armalite rifle and a sub-machine gun. He had his rifle pointed at the gunmen, but after one of them said “this is no time for dead heroes” and told him to drop his weapon, he did so.
He said the gunmen had captured three soldiers, three recruit gardaí and a garda, and ordered them to run in front of them. One of the gunmen ordered a soldier to drop his radio set and then he fired two or three shots into it.
Sgt Donal Kelleher, a detective at the time, said he was on the road near a ditch and saw another detective take charge of Mr Tidey. He then heard a shout and the rev of a car. Sgt Kelleher said he assumed it was a Garda car that passed earlier, and turned his head. He felt pain in his left thigh and then his right thigh.
He slumped and saw a blue car pass at high speed. He was taken to Ballinamore Garda station and then Cavan hospital. A bullet, which went through his left thigh, was removed from his right leg.
The trial continues on Tuesday.