An order deleting Tom Nevin's name from the licence of Jack White's Inn would not have proceeded if gardai continued to object, a barrister who had represented Catherine Nevin told the O Buachalla inquiry.
Mr Seamus O Tuathail SC gave his testimony to the inquiry in Irish. Through an interpreter, Mr O Tuathail said he was one of six people at a meeting in Judge Donnchadh O Buachalla's chambers on August 29th, 1997, which resulted in the signing of the order by the judge and the granting of a licence to Catherine Nevin the following day.
According to Mr O Tuathail - who said he could be questioned in English because he understood the language - Garda Insp Peter Finn objected to the application in the morning. However, when the meeting reconvened in the afternoon, Insp Finn said he was standing back from the application.
Replying to Mr Declan Doyle, for the inquiry, Mr O Tuathail said Judge O Buachalla was happy to sign the order when there were no objections from the gardai. He was "afraid" Insp Finn would continue his objections and the order would not be made.
Mr O Tuathail said he became involved as counsel just over a week previously and was working on an assumption based on correspondence he had seen that a court order "might" resolve the issue. Customs and Excise had requested a certificate of transfer. "I did not understand what was the full story with Customs and Excise. I must say I still don't understand," he added.
Mr O Tuathail said the judge had strongly wanted Insp Finn to be given copies of the letter in the morning. The word "strongly" was omitted by the interpreter in his translation and was added to the transcript after an interjection from Judge O Buachalla's legal team on the judge's instruction.
According to Mr O Tuathail, Insp Finn said he had not received notice of the application, so he told him it was an ex-parte application and no notification was necessary. Insp Finn had been kept informed and was in court because Mr Donnchadh Lehane, solicitor for Nevin, had adjourned the application for three auxiliary licences, a restaurant licence and extensions, until that date.