Mr Michael Murphy, who organised an investment of £100,000 in Celtic Helicopters in late 1992, also organised a loan of £92,000 for the company that same year, it emerged in the Moriarty tribunal this week.
Mr Murphy, an insurance broker, sold insurance to Celtic Helicopters and organised the loan so the helicopter company could continue to pay its premium. If the loan had not been organised, the company would literally have been grounded.
Mr John Barnicle, who runs Celtic Helicopters with Mr Ciaran Haughey, told the tribunal that Mr Murphy made the repayments on the loan. The loan was taken out with Gatehouse Finance plc, Upper Mount Street, Dublin, and was to be repaid in 10 monthly instalments of £9,915.
As each of the instalments came due, Mr Murphy drew cheques in favour of Celtic Helicopters and gave the cheques to Mr Barnicle.
Celtic Helicopters subsequently paid back "most" of the money to Mr Murphy. "We would have paid him back over the following years," Mr Barnicle said. He said Mr Murphy had a running account with Celtic Helicopters, and it had a running account with Mr Murphy. He said Mr Murphy would fly with Celtic Helicopters maybe once a year.
Mr Ciaran Haughey, when asked about the loan raised by Mr Murphy, said he was "aware that Mike Murphy Insurance Brokers was assisting the company with paying the company's insurance" but "I did not know the detail as this was dealt with by Mr Barnicle".
The £100,000 investment in Celtic Helicopters organised by Mr Murphy came from a Monaco-based insurance broker, Mr David Gresty, Mr Murphy has told the tribunal. Mr Gresty told The Irish Times he expects he will be called to give evidence to the Moriarty tribunal in a few weeks.
He was in Dublin this week expecting to be called but never was. He said the £100,000 invested was "totally mine, no question about that".
This week the tribunal also heard that Mr Murphy is involved in processing a claim for £200,000 for Celtic Helicopters arising out of a helicopter crash in 1991. The company hired a Bell helicopter to a company involved in the making of the film Far and Away. While filming the coastline of Dingle Bay, the helicopter was hit by a huge wave and sank, and was not recovered.
Church & General paid out £95,000 a few months later. The insurance had been taken out by Mike Murphy Insurance Brokers and a few months later it initiated legal proceedings on behalf of Celtic Helicopters against the film company. The claim was for £200,000 covering the loss of the helicopter and consequential loss of earnings.
At the time Celtic Helicopters was in financial difficulties arising from the construction of a hangar, and the late Des Traynor was approaching a number of business figures looking for investment. The £100,000 raised by Mr Murphy was part of this exercise.
Mr Barnicle told the Moriarty tribunal this week that Mr Traynor, because he knew the company needed money, offered to buy the insurance claim from Celtic Helicopters. He bought it for £100,000, this being the approximate amount which would remain after Church & General had been repaid £100,000, if the claim was entirely successful.
Asked if he was surprised that Mr Traynor was buying for 100 per cent of its value a claim which might not be successful and would take years to process, Mr Barnicle said: "I wasn't surprised. I was very happy about it".
No documents were ever signed to prove the assignment. The claim is still being processed. Mr Murphy is involved in processing the claim as is Mr Gerald Kean, the principal with Kean Solicitors. Until recently, they did not know the claim had been assigned to Mr Traynor. Mr Barnicle and Mr Haughey said they had not told either man.
They said they were continuing to process the claim "on behalf of Mr Traynor". However, they had not informed Mr Traynor's estate.
As well as being a insurance broker for Celtic Helicopters, Mr Murphy's companies have also done business with Mr Larry Goodman and the Department of Agriculture.
