The first major executive role of the Murphy Group's youngest director was to "keep an eye on the company's managing director", Mr Joseph Murphy jnr told the Flood tribunal yesterday.
The younger Murphy was given the task while on a visit to the Sizewell nuclear plant with the JMSE managing director, Mr Marcus Sweeney, the day after a failed attempt by the former chief executive, Mr Liam Conroy, to have Mr James Gogarty removed as chairman.
Mr Murphy jnr was replying to Ms Patricia Dillon SC, for the tribunal, who referred to "that fateful meeting on June 7th, 1988, when your father was engaged in taking back control from Liam Conroy".
In a dramatic series of company meetings at the Murphy-owned mews at Wilton Lodge (before the extraordinary general meeting later that day in the Ernst & Whinney offices of accountant Mr Brendan Devine to discuss Mr Gogarty's removal), Mr Joseph Murphy snr, backed by his personal financial adviser, Mr Edgar Wadley, ordered the replacement of a number of directors and appointed Mr Murphy jnr to the boards of all the companies in the Murphy Group.
"All of the new directors arrived at the Ernst & Whinney offices in St Stephen's Green", Mr Murphy jnr recalled. "Most of us stayed outside. Mr Wadley and my father went into the e.g.m. It was agreed that the meeting would be adjourned."
The removal of Mr Conroy was part of the plan.
Replying to a question from Ms Dillon about what had transpired when he and Mr Gogarty had subsequently visited the JMSE offices in Santry, Mr Murphy jnr said that there had been a heated discussion between himself and the managing director. "Mr Sweeney left the room and, I think, the premises."
Mr Sweeney and Mr Conroy had then begun proceedings to injunct the new board of directors.
Mr Murphy jnr said that he was asked to accompany Mr Sweeney on the following day, June 8th, to a meeting with Laing, the British construction firm, which was a major customer of AGSE, Murphy's English subsidiary, at Sizewell.
It was all very technical and he knew that he well out of his depth. "I was not sent to attend the meeting with Laings as such, but to see what Maurice Sweeney was up to, whether he was ringing solicitors or not. The meeting was all above me."
He was also there to note the extent of any liaison, if any, between Mr Sweeney, Mr Conroy and Mr Devine, and to report back to Mr Wadley.
Ms Dillon intervened to say that, according to an affidavit issued by Mr Sweeney in the injunction proceedings, there had been no mention of a "heated discussion" at the meeting with Mr Gogarty and Mr Murphy jnr, and it appeared that the younger Murphy had been "much more than a bystander" at that meeting.
Mr Sweeney had said that, when asked at the meeting to let Mr Gogarty take over the management of the steel plant, he had replied: "I'll think about it." He had said that whatever he would decide would not damage the company.
Ms Dillon: "But you said to him that the idea of putting Mr Gogarty in charge of the steel fabrication was only a suggestion. And the affidavit does not refer to any heated discussion."
"It may not, but there was one", Mr Murphy jnr said.