Morris tribunal:Publican Frank McBrearty snr has told the tribunal he had no trouble with gardaí in 20 years doing business until his family were wrongly identified as murder suspects in late 1996, and that the authorities tolerated late opening of his nightclub on Saturday nights for 20 years.
"Before all this happened to us, you never would have seen a guard near our premises. Never. In the 20 years that I was there, I never seen a paddywagon until 1997. I had very little trouble. My record was brilliant. When the guards came into my premises in 1996, 1997, there were some nights 50 guards in the streets, not counting the patrol cars, the panda cars."
Mr McBrearty said he closed in accordance with the licensing laws except on Saturday nights, when he stayed open late "the same as everybody else". He said the Garda knew about this and that Supt Kevin Lennon said to him: "We will give you an hour."
Mr McBrearty said that when Sgt John White arrived in Raphoe in early 1997, he instituted a series of inspections which amounted to harassment.
Mr McBrearty is giving evidence as the tribunal begins its final module, dealing with allegations of Garda harassment made by the extended McBrearty family and effectiveness of the Garda Complaints Board in dealing with the complaints of the McBrearty family and others between 1997 and 2001. The majority of the complaints relate to summonses served against the Parting Glass nightclub, Mr McBrearty's licensed premises.
Tribunal barrister Paul McDermott said 69 summonses were served over an 18-month period against a licensee who had only five convictions over a 20-year period. The district court summonses were withdrawn in July 2000 on direction of the DPP.
Other harassment claims in- clude District Court summonses and charges brought for alleged traffic offences, distribution of defamatory leaflets and business cards, and painting of defamatory slogans on public roads near the homes of Frank McBrearty jnr and his cousin, Mark McConnell. The tribunal has already determined these complaints came from a local group identified in its second report as vigilantes who took part in a campaign against the McBrearty family.