Libel trial told Adams, Doherty and McGuinness were at IRA meeting

A Co Louth farmer, Mr Thomas "Slab" Murphy, was present at an IRA "Revolutionary Council" meeting in 1983 which was also attended by the current Sinn Fein president, Mr Gerry Adams, vice-president, Mr Pat Doherty, and chief negotiator, Mr Martin McGuinness, the High Court was told by the convicted murderer and former IRA activist turned informer, Mr Sean O'Callaghan.

Also present at that meeting were Mr Danny Morrison, Mr Joe Keohane, Mr Martin Ferris, Mr John Noonan, Mr Tommy Devereaux and Mr J.P. McDonald, Mr O'Callaghan said.

He said he also attended two meetings of the IRA "General Headquarters Staff" some time between late 1984 and 1985. He said among those present at one of those meetings were Mr Martin McGuinness and Mr Pat Doherty. He described Mr Doherty as "Adjutant-General".

Mr O'Callaghan said the GHQ was the section of the IRA responsible for running it, and only very senior IRA persons of some standing would secure a position on the GHQ staff, he said.

He had attended the GHQ meetings as the "Officer Commanding" the IRA's Southern Command. He named a number of people he said were also present and said these had particular areas of responsibility.

According to Mr O'Callaghan, these people were: Mr Kevin McKenna, Chief-of-Staff; Mr Pat Doherty, Adjutant General; Mr Martin McGuinness; Mr Tom Murphy; Mr Seamus Twomey, Director of Intelligence; Mr John Deery, Director of Finance; Mr Owen Coogan, England Department; Mr Kieran Conway, Director of Research; Mr Gabriel Cleary, Director of Engineering Department; and Mr Danny Morrison, Director of Publicity.

Mr Tom Murphy was the Officer Commanding the IRA's Northern Command, Mr O'Callaghan said.

He said there was a "funny moment" between Mr Murphy and Mr Pat Doherty at one of those meetings. He said Mr Doherty had asked Mr Murphy how they were going to win the war.

Mr O'Callaghan said Mr Murphy had replied: "Bomb them to the conference table and then booby-trap the table." He said Mr Doherty had asked: "But what about the Sinn Fein delegation?"

He said Mr Murphy had replied: "We never tell people where we're putting our booby traps." This was in February/March 1985, Mr O'Callaghan said.

Asked if he could identify Mr Murphy, he pointed to the plaintiff, Thomas Murphy, who was sitting in the packed public gallery of the court.

Mr O'Callaghan was giving evidence on the opening day of a libel action taken by Mr Thomas Murphy, a farmer, of Ballybinaby, Hackballscross, Co Louth, against Times Newspapers Ltd over an article published in the Sunday Times on June 30th, 1985.

Mr Murphy claims he was libelled in the article, which dealt with an IRA campaign to bomb British seaside resorts. A paragraph in the article stated: "In Ireland itself the planning of mainland campaigns is surrounded now by a more tightly knit security. The IRA's army council last February appointed a farmer in the Republic, called `Slab' Murphy (which is not his real name) to be its operations commander for the whole of Northern Ireland. He has no convictions for terrorist activities and this, plus the fact that he is on the other side of the Border, makes him a security headache hard to cure."

In evidence yesterday, Mr Murphy said he was known as Slab Murphy and, when he read the article on June 30th, 1985, he understood it to refer to him. Mr Murphy gave only limited evidence yesterday and is to resume his evidence at a later stage.

The trial opened before Mrs Justice McGuinness and a jury yesterday and is to resume on Tuesday when Mr O'Callaghan is to continue his evidence.

Answering Mr Paul Gallagher SC, for Times Newspapers, Mr O'Callaghan said he was born in Tralee in 1954. He joined the Provisional IRA in 1970 when he was 15 and remained in it until October 1975. Until May 1974 he was in Co Tyrone and then Co Fermanagh. He resigned from the IRA in October 1975 and went to England until 1979, when he returned to Co Kerry. In August 1979 he rejoined the IRA and stayed in it until 1985. He then went to England and later the Netherlands and afterwards returned to England.

When he went back to England in 1985 he met the English police with the consent of the Garda. He was asked to go on a debriefing session in Europe which he did, with the Garda's authority.

When he went back to England he knew the RUC wanted to question him and knew he would be arrested if he came to its attention. In November 1988 he went to Tunbridge Wells police station and said he wanted to confess to the murder of a detective inspector in Omagh, Co Tyrone. Two RUC officers went over and he was brought to Northern Ireland where he made a detailed statement.

Mr O'Callaghan said he pleaded guilty at Belfast Crown Court in May 1990 to two 1974 murders and other charges. He was given two life sentences and 549 years in prison. He spent time in prisons in the North, in England and again in the North. He was released in December 1996, having served eight years.

While in prison, the situation always was that he would have liked to do everything to damage the capability of the IRA to murder. He did so.

Mr O'Callaghan said since his release he had lived in England. He had visited the North. There was no particular reason why he had not visited the South except advice from people whom he trusted - not security people - that there might be a possibility his life might be in danger.

When he rejoined the IRA in 1979 he told gardai he wished to do so in order to work against the IRA and had done so. Mr O'Callaghan detailed his IRA activities.

He went to England until May 1979. He rejoined the IRA in August 1979.

He said Mr Martin Ferris had been Officer Commanding the IRA's Southern Command until he was arrested in connection with the Marita Ann arms seizure. Mr O'Callaghan said he succeeded Mr Ferris in that position.

He said he made it his business to travel into every single area of IRA activity.

Mr O'Callaghan said the IRA Revolutionary Council (RC) was set up to bring together republicans to formulate the movement's direction. He was at one full meeting of the RC in June or July 1983 near Charlestown in Co Mayo. He said the RC was a "think tank" with a floating membership which would be acting at all times under the orders and direction of the IRA's seven-member ruling "Army Council".

He named 10 people who he said were present at that RC meeting, including Mr Thomas Murphy. He could not say what Mr Murphy's position was regarding the RC at that time but he was there representing south Armagh and that meant he had to be a figure of some importance in that area.

Mr O'Callaghan said he was also present at IRA GHQ meetings. He said the IRA's Army Council appoints a Chief-of-Staff and that person in turn appoints the GHQ staff. He had attended a number of GHQ meetings as OC of the IRA's Southern Command between October 1984 and July 1985.

He said Mr Tom Murphy was present at two of those meetings and named others he said were also present. He said the two meetings were held in Co Mayo and in a house in Co Kildare. He said the Tom Murphy referred to was the same Tom Murphy who had attended the RC meeting.

He said if there was an area of the Northern Command in danger of splitting up or where internal differences existed, then Martin McGuinness would have overseen Mr Murphy. In operational terms, Mr Murphy was the OC the Northern Command, he said.

He said Mr Murphy made clear his area was the best in IRA terms.