Further serious allegations against gardaí in Co Donegal are to be aired at the Morris Tribunal today as the inquiry's legal team continues its opening statement.
In the first day of hearings in Donegal Town yesterday, counsel for the tribunal, Mr Peter Charleton SC, detailed a litany of claims over which he said the chairman would have to adjudicate.
These included alleged Garda involvement in the planting of bombs, the reported killing by two gardaí of cattle dealer Mr Richie Barron, and alleged Garda collusion in a terrorist explosion in Strabane.
Mr Charleton, who is expected to take up to 10 days to complete the preliminary opening statement, said the tribunal's work had been hampered by the fact that the truth was "deeply buried". Citing claim and counter-claim for every allegation, he said: "People have lied in relation to virtually every paragraph of the terms of reference."
The most serious allegations alluded to yesterday centred on Det Garda Noel McMahon and Supt Kevin Lennon, both of whom have been suspended from the force.
The tribunal heard reports that Det Garda McMahon pointed a loaded gun in the face of a junior officer at Buncrana Garda station in 1994. The claim was supported by two independent witnesses, but denied by Det Garda McMahon.
A further allegation against the same garda was made by Ms Sheena McMahon, his estranged wife, who claimed to the Carty inquiry her husband knew of the planned bombing of Strabane courthouse in 1993 but "let it go ahead".
Other details of the Carty inquiry, the internal Garda investigation into alleged Garda misconduct in Co Donegal, were made public for the first time yesterday.
Among the claims cited in the report was one to the effect that Garda "informant" Ms Adrienne McGlinchey was told by Det Garda McMahon that two gardaí killed Mr Barron. The report said two unnamed gardaí continued to refuse to account for their movements on the night of Mr Barron's death.
Members of the McBrearty family from Raphoe, whose allegations of harassment by gardaí form one of the central modules of the inquiry, are continuing to decline representation. The family has complained the terms of reference are too narrow, and it also says it cannot afford to pay lawyers in advance of a decision on costs.
