McBrearty's Message For McDowell: "I Won't Let Go Until You Tell The Truth"

No one yet knows the full truth of what happened to Richie Barron on that infamous night in Raphoe, Co. Donegal, in 1996. What we do know with as much certainty as can be mustered in the particular peculiar circumstances is that he was killed in a hit and run accident. Who was responsible remains a mystery. That mystery is unlikely ever be solved because of the extent to which the investigation was bungled by the Gardaí responsible at the time. Looking at it, you’d be tempted to conclude that the botched inquiry was deliberate.

Worse still, despite the overwhelming evidence that Barron was indeed the victim of a hit and run, Frank McBrearty Jnr and Mark McConnell were framed by Gardaí investigating Richie Barron’s death for murdering him. There was not a shred of evidence to suggest this, but the Gardaí pressed ahead, supported in their corrupt misuse of power by the full machinery of the State. Along the way, they extracted a confession from McBrearty – given only in order to prevent any further brutalisation at the hands of the Gardaí. It is perhaps the single biggest miscarriage of justice ever in Ireland – at least that we know of. This much has been confirmed by the Morris Tribunal, inquiring into the activities of the Gardaí in Donegal, in relation to this and other matters.
While he has been fully exonerated by the tribunal, Frank McBrearty Jnr. has no reason right now to feel that justice has been done. On the contrary, he has ample cause to be extremely bitter about the way in which his case was handled by the offices of the Minister for Justice, the Attorney General and the higher echelons of the Gardaí.
Far from being content to take the damages settlement he will inevitably be offered by the State, he is now campaigning to have the Minister for Justice, Michael McDowell, removed from office. Over the next few months, it will be interesting to see just how effective his campaign is.  

Rory Hearne: You were arrested as a so-called suspect in the Richie Barron case. How were you treated by the Gardaí?
Frank McBrearty:
When I was arrested in 1996, I was treated like the Jews were treated by the Gestapo and like Irish men and women were treated by the Black and Tans. The Gardaí used oppressive tactics not dissimilar to those used behind the Iron Curtain. I was abused, called a ‘murderer’, dragged down corridors, poked in my ribs and had my head banged off a chair. It was a nightmare. The worst of it was that when I was in Garda custody I was thinking to myself ‘I am being charged for something that I didn’t do. I am going to be put in jail and taken away from my young family’.
You have been writing about this to Michael McDowell since he was Attorney General. Why did he not he act sooner?
I wrote to the previous Attorney General David Byrne and I have been writing to the Department of Justice and to the Garda Commissioner since early 1997. It fell on deaf ears until the Morris Tribunal was established in 2002. In the end, that process was rushed. Many Gardaí were not called to give evidence. McDowell wanted it rushed, so that my High Court case would not expose what the tribunal hadn’t done. McDowell wanted the credit.
What about McDowell’s contention that the previous government – the Fine Gael/Labour coalition led by John Bruton – was equally responsible, and that they shouldn’t criticise him?
I got an injunction against the murder charges in April 1997. In May 1997, the Rainbow government left office. They did what they could in that short time. The FF/PD government – who gained power then – have had ample opportunity to correct this mess. They denied my family legal aid despite knowing that I was innocent. The Minister for Justice granted the Garda Commissioner and the Garda legal team their costs, but they left me to fend for myself. The Garda legal team has received ¤2.9 million of taxpayers’ money.
You are highly critical of McDowell. Should he resign?
McDowell should resign – and he should resign now. And I’ll tell you why. He misled the Dáil. In February 2002, the Garda Commissioner, the Department of Justice, Michael McDowell (Attorney General at the time – RH) and John O'Donoghue (then Minister for Justice) were informed that the murder of Richie Barron – of which I was accused – had been re-designated as a dangerous driving incident and I was no longer a suspect. Six weeks afterwards, on the 28th of March 2002, the Morris Tribunal began its investigations and asked me did I kill Richie Barron. Those four people knew that I was innocent, that I wasn’t a suspect any more – and yet they didn’t give that information to the tribunal.
I didn’t find out about that until three years later. In response to a Dáil question, tabled by Joe Costello in 2004, McDowell stated that the death of Richie Barron had been re-designated a dangerous driving incident in November 2002. Therefore, McDowell deliberately misled the Dáil to cover his own backside. As I said, it had been re-designated in February 2002. To this day, McDowell has not corrected the record in the Dáil. They knew for three years and didn’t tell me or Mark McConnell. We suffered for three years longer than we should have. *(See Editor’s Note)
The Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern said recently that the Garda Siochána Bill, currently going through the Dáil, dealt fundamentally with issues of accountability within the force. He said that when the bill is enacted we will have a better force. What’s your view?
The Garda Bill will make this country worse than it was for people under the Iron Curtain. No one will have any rights. The Gardaí will do what they like. The Garda Bill will give them more powers, without even an ombudsman to contain them. It will reduce human rights. James Connolly and Michael Collins died for this country – they would turn in their graves if they knew what the present government was up to. As Martin Luther King said: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” In my view, if they pass this bill it will be a serious threat to justice in this country.
Many working class people, who are regular victims of Garda oppression – and sometimes brutality – don’t have significant resources at their disposal. What could you have done if you didn’t have the resources or finances to pursue your case?
My family come from a working class background. My dad worked himself to the bone to survive. That is what gave him the strength for this struggle. But, yes, the fact that we had money meant that we could stand up. I would hate to think of how many people there might be out there, who can’t fight – and who can’t get up in the morning and fight because they don’t have the money. There should be a charity set up to help people who can’t fight their cases against miscarriages of justice and corruption.
Why is it that politicians in the present Government seem to be so unwilling to allow or to take on board criticism of the Gardaí?
My family were staunch Fianna Fáil supporters. My grandfather lit bonfires to celebrate their victories in the ‘50s and ‘60s. However, not one member of Fianna Fáil has opened his or her mouth for us in Donegal. Even Blaney (Ind. Fianna Fáil) voted against the proposal to have a public enquiry into the affair, as did the Independent TD, Tom Gildea. Gildea stood on opposition to masts – yet it was those who had a mast on their land who were victimised as part of all this. The four Donegal Fianna Fáil politicians are a disgrace to the people of Donegal, and to the people of Ireland. Those who have helped us were my legal team, as well as Brendan Howlin of Labour, Jim Higgins of Fine Gael – and my father. Only for my father, his family would be in jail for crimes that didn’t happen.
What’s your view of the Gardaí in general?
The Gardaí are too close to the political system. They are too political and they have too much influence on politics. The tribunal didn’t tell the public that there were people paid to kill me. The Gardaí never told me of these death threats on my life. The first job of the Gardaí is supposed to be protecting the citizens. Well, I haven’t seen any evidence of this protection. I’ve been treated as a second-class citizen. Politicians in Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats forget where they came from. They have forgotten who put them into power.
How do you intend to get justice?
At the European Court of Human Rights. This State has done everything to prevent the full truth coming out. There hasn’t been one Garda prosecuted – and my prediction is that there won’t be any Gardaí prosecuted. I will have to get my justice in Europe. Thomas Jefferson the former US President once said: “We have the wolf by the ears and we can neither hold him nor safely let him go. Justice is on one scale and self preservation is in the other.” I would describe McDowell as the wolf. So Mr. McDowell, the message to you from the McBrearty family is this: “I won’t let go of your ears until you tell the truth.”

EDITOR'S NOTE
*Since Frank McBrearty was interviewed by Hot Press, it has emerged, in a report in the Irish Times, that the Fianna Fail/PD government was first told by the Garda Commissioner Noel Conroy, in August 2000, that Gardai in Donegal had exploited witnesses and used false testimony. This “secret” information was contained in a summary, drawn up by Conroy, of the Report by the Garda Assistant Commissioner Kevin Carty, into allegations of criminal and unethical behaviour by Gardai in Donegal. The summary specifically referred to the case surrounding the death of Richie Barron.
The report was sent to the then Minister for Justice, John O’Donoghue. As late as last week, the current Minister for Justice Michael McDowell – who as Attorney General seems to have advised O’Donoghue against setting up a Tribunal of Inquiry – claimed that it did not finally become clear to the Government that a tribunal had to be set up till January 2002, some 17 months after the report provided by Noel Conroy.
This latest revelation poses the most serious questions about what has been put on the Dail record by Michael McDowell in relation to the McBrearty case, and about the information that was available to the Government about the unlawful activities of the Gardai in Donegal.