The Flood tribunal embarked upon the third year of its existence yesterday with a trip down memory lane to Turvey House, the 16th-century listed house that was controversially demolished on the orders of Dublin County Council in 1987. This journey, however, led only to a cul-de-sac, and failed to throw any light on the destruction of one of north county Dublin's finest houses. In any case, all the tribunals in the world couldn't bring the Donabate mansion back.
Turvey, therefore, will be filed in future under "tragedy". But at least the tribunal has exposed the full story of its sad decline after the Murphy group acquired the house and surrounding lands in the late 1960s. Mr Tom Doherty, one of the officials who signed the demolition order on the house, was called to give evidence yesterday. The main outcome of Mr Doherty's testimony was to clear his former boss, Mr George Redmond, of any involvement in the demolition of the building.
Mr Redmond, the former assistant Dublin city and county manager, never discussed Turvey House with his officials before the order was signed, Mr Doherty said. It was, he said, standard practice not to bother the manager with "relatively routine" matters such as this. It was only during the ensuing uproar that Mr Redmond emerged to deal with press queries and to prepare a motion for county councillors.
There was no evidence, therefore, that Mr Redmond had "stuck his neck out" on Turvey, as Mr James Gogarty has alleged. No one emerges with credit from this episode. Mr Gogarty, who was minding the property for the Murphys, let the building go to "rack and ruin". By 1973, five years after it was acquired by the developers, Turvey had "gone beyond the point where preservation is possible," according to a council architect.
So what did the council do? Nothing. And what did the owners do? The "minimum work" possible, according to earlier evidence from Mr Gogarty.
Two reports compiled by building inspectors in 1986 opposed demolition, on the basis that Turvey was a listed building.
Yet the end came quickly the following year. Mr Doherty said he inspected the house in May 1987 and found all the internal structure gutted. There was no alternative to demolition, Mr Doherty believed.
"Someone" was told to ring the Office of Public Works, and came back with the - incorrect - information that the building was not listed. Planning permission and two months' notice were required before a listed building could be interfered with.
So why did the council officials not spot the information about the listed status of Turvey that was obvious from their own files? Why did they not consult their boss before knocking down one of only two listed buildings in the council area? And why did the council order the demolition of the house in three days, having done virtually nothing for 14 years.
Indeed, the council seemed more preoccupied with recouping from Mr Gogarty the £274.20 it spent on boarding up the building than in ensuring its survival.
The tribunal also heard from Mr Peter Mycroft, an English engineer who gave "alibi" evidence for Mr Joseph Murphy jnr covering two periods in June 1989, the time when the payment to Mr Burke was made.
According to Mr Mycroft, Mr Murphy was on-site with him in London on June 6th and during the week beginning June 12th. Mr Gogarty alleges Mr Murphy was in Dublin to witness the payment to Mr Burke some time in the first half of June.
Lawyers for the developers, Mr Michael and Mr Tom Bailey, re-emerged at the tribunal after a long absence in time to hear tribunal lawyers calling for an order compelling the Baileys to produce telephone records of their calls with Mr Gogarty, Mr Burke and the Murphy interest between 1989 and 1997. Mr Garrett Simons, barrister, for the Baileys, objected to this "huge trawl" but Mr Justice Flood made the order anyway.