The Dublin woman who denies having had an affair with the Bulgarian man she accuses of harassing her has also denied lying to gardaí about the true nature of their relationship.
"Do not accuse me of lying to the police force of this country. I am 48 years old and I have a clean record. I have never been dishonest," Mary Gilhooley, of Cannonbrook Park, Lucan, said on the fourth consecutive day of her cross-examination by Seán Guerin, defending.
She agreed with Mr Guerin that she told gardaí that she met Vencislav Venev (39), a Bulgarian waiter whom she first encountered in 1999 while on holiday with her husband, "a few times in Liffey Valley for coffee out of pity for him". She also agreed she failed to mention that he came to her house for dinner on some Saturday nights; that he was invited to her house on the day of her son's confirmation; that she met him for lunch in restaurants; and that she sent him postcards when she was on holiday.
"I did not think that was relevant. What has that got to do with the harassment?", Ms Gilhooley asked. She admitted she had had a friendship with him since 1999 but had not thought there was any need for the gardaí to know as she was concerned only with May-July 2004.
Mr Venev, from a Bulgarian village on the Black Sea coast, has denied harassing her via telephone and by other means on dates between May 1st, 2004, and July 14th, 2004.
Ms Gilhooley, a medical secretary in a city hospital, continuously denied that she had an affair with Mr Venev and that she had written several letters to him that contained what Mr Guerin described as "purple prose indulged in by those in the first flush of love".
She denied knowledge of letters read out in court professing "eternal love" for Mr Venev in handwriting she agreed "looked like" hers and containing information about her life that only she could have known; of faxes sent out from her workplace; and of envelopes addressed to him carrying her workplace as the return address.
She told Mr Guerin that the correspondence, written in German, a language she said she had only a "minimal" knowledge of, was probably all invented and said she had probably been "set up".
Florin Ghetti, a security guard at the hospital where she worked, told prosecuting counsel Lisa Demspey that Mr Venev came looking for Ms Gilhooley at the hospital several times during the period referred to in the indictment.
Mr Ghetti said Mr Venev was often drunk when he came to the hospital and insisted on speaking to Ms Gilhooley even though she refused to do so. On July 12th, 2004, he came to the hospital around 8am and was waiting for Ms Gilhooley in the car park when she came to work. She appeared frightened of him and, Mr Ghetti said, he called gardaí.
Mr Florin agreed, in cross-examination by Mr Guerin, that when he approached Mr Venev he appeared to be already leaving the premises.
The hearing continues before Judge Kevin Haugh.