The Centre for Public Inquiry seemed set to stir up controversy, but it became the centre of it, writes Paul Cullen
The knives were out for the Centre for Public Inquiry (CPI) from the moment it was set up, and only the presence of respected former judge Feargus Flood as its chairman staved off the attacks for so long.
The new body set up in January this year was the political establishment's worst nightmare, a watchdog established with the avowed intention of snooping into its affairs. Unlike the courts or tribunals, the politicians would have no input into its operation; unlike the newspapers, it would not be subject to editorial checks and balances.
Worse, the centre had oodles of cash, supplied from outside the State by billionaire Irish-American Chuck Feeney. Money buys freedom, and good lawyers when the going gets tough, so the centre promised to be a formidable operator.
But worst of all for the politicians, CPI was the brainchild of its executive director, Frank Connolly, an ideologically-driven republican journalist with a decade-long track-record of making mainstream politicians sweat.
Connolly has broken some of the biggest corruption stories in recent times, most notably James Gogarty's payoff to Ray Burke and the carry-on among Co Donegal gardaí that led to the setting up of the Morris tribunal. At times, though, his ideological zeal led to him running stories that weren't true, such as the fiasco surrounding Denis "Starry" O'Brien's allegations against Bertie Ahern.
A "dangerous bastard" was minister Dermot Ahern's description of Connolly back in 1997, as alleged by planning tribunal witness Joe Murphy jnr, who also claimed Ahern told him the journalist was in the "IRSP/INLA".
Ahern couldn't recall making the alleged remarks, but the description can be regarded as a fair summation of the views held about Connolly by senior gardaí and the Government.
At the time in 1999, Connolly angrily rejected the allegations as "disgraceful suggestions" and said they could have placed his life at risk.
In August 2001, Frank Connolly's brother Niall was one of three Irishmen arrested in Colombia, where the authorities alleged they had dealings with Farc narco-terrorists. The so-called Colombia Three turned up back in Ireland earlier this year, having absconded, while on bail, from the South American country last year.
The following year, the Sunday Independent alleged that Frank Connolly had also travelled to Colombia, several months before the visit of the Colombia Three, and like his brother had used a false passport. At regular intervals, the newspaper repeated the allegation, but Frank Connolly declined to respond in detail, at least until this week.
Gardaí interviewed him about the allegation around this time and a file was sent to the DPP, who has taken no further action, at least up to now. It is not known whether the publicity-shy Chuck Feeney was aware of the allegations about Connolly when he agreed to fund the CPI with €800,000 a year.
THE CENTRE ITSELF has had a quiet first year. Three researchers and an administrator were hired, and two reports published. The first dealt with controversial developments opposite Trim Castle, while the second examined the safety concerns about the Corrib gas pipeline. Critics noted that the Corrib issue is currently one of Sinn Féin's favourite hobby-horses.
Though attractively presented and well received, the reports hardly carried the whiff of sulphur that marked Connolly's journalism.
But it was the threat of what was to come, in the heat of a pre-election period, that worried the Government.
During the summer, both Bertie Ahern and Minister for Justice Michael McDowell "briefed" Feeney on the Garda file about Connolly. The issue was raised on the board of Feeney's trust, Atlantic Philanthropies, which sought clarification from the CPI board in Dublin.
Although some board members expressed doubts about the corrosive effects on the centre of continuing media allegations, the board voted confidence in its director.
HOWEVER, ATLANTIC DECIDED it had no option but to cut the funding so long as Connolly remained in office. The decision was taken before McDowell's bombshell in the Dáil on Tuesday, though it was only announced after the Minister made his allegations with the protection afforded by Dáil privilege. McDowell claimed the visit of Frank Connolly, along with his brother Niall and the other Irishmen who allegedly travelled to Colombia on false passports, was connected to an IRA operation garnering large amounts of drugs money from Farc in return for explosives training. The Minister's information is based on the Garda file, and much of this information in turn comes from the Colombian authorities, whose reliability has been questioned by Irish critics.
His broadside caused pandemonium inside the CPI. Connolly angrily denied that he had ever visited Colombia or travelled on a false passport, and claimed the Minister was leading a "witch-hunt" against him. But he refused to say where he was in April 2001, the time McDowell alleges he was in Colombia. This, he said he would deal with "in my own time" should the DPP bring a case against him.
In April 2001 Connolly was a journalist with the Sunday Business Post and Damien Kiberd, a director of CPI, was his editor. Both men declined to answer questions on the issue when contacted by The Irish Times this week. Kiberd left the Post in November 2001 and Connolly moved on to Ireland on Sunday at around the same time.
For a body whose claimed mission is the promotion of "the highest standards of accountability" the CPI board was extremely reticent this week. Four directors - chairman Justice Flood, Kiberd, solicitor Greg O'Neill and Unicef deputy director Thora Mackey - declined to comment publicly while theologian Enda McDonagh could not be reached.
OFF THE RECORD, emotions were running high. One person contacted by The Irish Times broke down in tears, while another rolled off a stream of expletives before hanging up. A sense of disbelief surrounded Feeney's decision to pull the plug, as well as anger at McDowell and Independent newspapers for their attacks on Connolly.
Having scored a direct hit, McDowell kept his mouth shut. Sinn Féin and Independent TD Finian McGrath criticised what they termed his abuse of Dáil privilege by publicising the contents of a Garda file on a man who has not been charged with any offence.
PD leader Mary Harney defended the "honest and forthright" actions of her colleague before going on to summarise the Government's distaste for the CPI: "The idea of some group of citizens setting themselves up with absolutely no justification to the wider public is absolutely sinister and inappropriate".
The CPI board meets next week to discuss its options, which are limited. Feeney's funding runs out at the end of the year, making closure inevitable unless a new donor can be found. Connolly could offer to resign, which might turn the taps back on, but the centre's credibility would remain dangerously wounded.
While the Minister made his allegations under Dáil privilege, Connolly could yet sue the newspapers who made similar claims before this week. While he hasn't done so yet, this war is far from over.