Cooney says Murphy jnr not in State when Burke got money

Mr Joe Murphy jnr was out of the State on the day in June 1989 when money was given to Mr Ray Burke, Mr Garrett Cooney SC for the Murphy group, contended at the Flood tribunal yesterday.

Mr Cooney said Mr James Gogarty was deliberately falsifying events when he said Mr Murphy jnr was at Mr Burke's house. He also maintained that bank records and the testimony of other witnesses would show Mr Gogarty was in error about the amount of Murphy money given to Mr Burke, which he said was £30,000 and not £40,000.

Continuing his cross-examination of Mr Gogarty yesterday, Mr Cooney said it was his contention, based on Mr Burke's television appearances in June 1989, as well as details of withdrawals from Murphy group bank accounts and Garda notes of statements made by Mr Gogarty, that the actual date of the handover of money to Mr Burke was June 8th.

Mr Cooney revealed that on Monday June 6th, Mr Joe Murphy jnr flew from Dublin to London, following a weekend wedding in Waterford. On Friday of that week, June 9th, he received a phone call in London, from relatives in Arigna in Co Leitrim where he was reared, to say that a family member, Mrs Mary Elizabeth Flynn, had died. Mr Cooney said Mr Murphy jnr had flown from London to Dublin on Saturday June 10th, hired a car at Dublin airport and driven to Arigna and was present for both the removal and funeral on June 10th and 11th. Mr Murphy jnr returned to London on Monday, said Mr Cooney, who added that the details would be "very well corroborated".

Mr Cooney said that if the meeting in Mr Burke's house had taken place on the Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday after the funeral, June 12th, 13th or 14th, Mr Gogarty would have placed the meeting in his evidence in relation to the funeral. Mr Gogarty has already given evidence that the meeting took place in the first two weeks of June. Summarising his point with relation to the dates, Mr Cooney accused Mr Gogarty of "sheer malicious invention" in involving Mr Murphy jnr with "the pay-off to Mr Burke".

When Mr Gogarty said this was "completely untrue" Mr Cooney responded that "your involvement of Mr Murphy in these matters is due to two motivations largely, (a) your desire for vengeance against him and (b) to cover up your own involvement in the pay-off to Mr Ray Burke".

Mr Gogarty responded again that this was "completely untrue".

Contending that the meeting with Mr Burke had taken place on June 8th, Mr Cooney referred to Mr Gogarty's affidavit in which it was stated that Mr Burke was formally dressed and "had not much time which we all understood as there was a general election campaign going on at the time. To the best of my recollection Mr Burke added that he had to do an interview for radio or television later in the day".

Mr Cooney said the record would show that Mr Burke was on television on the evening of June 8th, "and did not again appear on television until after polling day, which was June 15th".

Mr Cooney also maintained that notes of a meeting between Det Supt John McElligott and Mr Gogarty showed that Mr Gogarty had told the detective that the meeting with Mr Burke had taken place on June 8th.

Mr Cooney read from Det Supt McElligott's notes to the effect that Mr Gogarty had told the detective that £30,000 had been secured "in a brown paper bag" and later taken "on the same day" to Mr Burke.

"You see you have already given evidence that June 8th was the day . . . that the money was obtained and counted in JMSE's office in Santry," said Mr Cooney.

Mr Gogarty said this was correct.

"I am suggesting that in this interview which you had with Supt McElligott you recount these events to him and then you go on to say that after 4.00 p.m. on the same day, you go on to describe a visit to Ray Burke's house."

Mr Gogarty however, denied that this was correct and questioned whether or not the note actually said "same day" or "some day". Mr Cooney responded that it would be Det Supt McElligott's evidence that the words were "same day".