A further possible link between Michael Lowry and the purchase of a football stadium in Doncaster by Denis O'Brien has come to light from evidence given to the tribunal, writes Colm Keena, Public Affairs Correspondent
A Tipperary businessman who gave Michael Lowry £25,000 in cash in 1992 has emerged as a business partner of Kevin Phelan, the Omagh-based businessman who played a central role in the English property transactions being investigated by the Moriarty tribunal.
William or Bill Maher was a partner of Mr Phelan's in M&P Associates which played a role in the purchase of the Doncaster Rovers stadium for £4.3 million in 1998 and the subsequent management of the property. The tribunal is currently investigating whether Mr Lowry had any link with the deal, which businessman Denis O'Brien has said was his exclusively.
A number of years ago the tribunal heard that Mr Maher made a £25,000 cash payment to Mr Lowry, which he said was for consultancy work on refrigeration projects in England for Mr Maher's company, Maher Meat Packers.
Mr Lowry described the payment as "generous without being excessive" and said it had not involved the issuing of invoices.
M&P Associates' involvement in the Doncaster deal emerged in evidence given at the tribunal last week. The tribunal has been told that Mr Phelan spotted the potential of the Doncaster project, brought it to the attention of Mr O'Brien's Dublin accountant and then managed the project for a period after the 1998 purchase of the stadium.
Some of this work was conducted through M&P Associates, according to the evidence.
Mr Phelan has not agreed to come to Dublin to give evidence to the tribunal.
Mr Phelan was also involved in spotting two other properties, in Cheadle and Mansfield, with which Mr Lowry had an acknowledged involvement. Mr Lowry has said Mr Phelan approached him about investing in property in England in the late 1990s, after Mr Lowry's resignation from government office.
Mr Maher is understood to be a native of Tipperary but currently lives in Northamptonshire, England. Attempts to contact him for a comment were unsuccessful.
Mr Phelan and Mr Maher supplied statements to the beef tribunal in the early 1990s concerning a Master Meats plant in Omagh, but never gave evidence as the tribunal ruled it was only concerned with activities within this State.
Both men have served as directors of an English company, Progressive Property Developments Ltd. Companies House records in London show Mr Maher was a director of the company for eight months in 2003.
Mr Phelan was a director for 13 months in the 2003/2004 period. A Michael Myles Lloyd is currently a director of the company.
The tribunal has heard that an August 1999 fax from Kevin Phelan to one of Mr O'Brien's advisers made reference to an "ML" in relation to the Doncaster project. This subsequently sparked an inquiry when it was sent to the solicitors' firm acting for the O'Brien family in 2002.
Mr Lowry's accountant Denis O'Connor was asked by Mr O'Brien's solicitors to ask Mr Phelan what ML referred to. Yesterday he told the tribunal he was told by Mr Phelan that ML "could" have been a reference to a Mike Lloyd, with whom he had done business over the years. In the event, Kevin Phelan told the O'Brien family solicitors that the reference was to Mr Lowry but was not in relation to Doncaster.
Mr Maher and Mr Phelan were also directors of an Omagh-based business, Classic Home Interiors, which was wound up in 1997.
Mr O'Connor began giving evidence about the Doncaster transaction on Friday and continues his evidence today. Mr O'Brien may give evidence on the matter later this week, or next week.