Board attempt to oust Gogarty `foiled'

Details of a boardroom battle in 1988 for control of the Murphy group of companies and family trusts were revealed at the tribunal yesterday.

A former accountant to the Murphy group holding company, Lajos Holdings, Mr Brendan Devine of Ernst and Whinney, said the dispute centred on the desire of the Murphy group chief executive, Mr Liam Conroy, to remove Mr James Gogarty from his non-executive position as JMSE chairman.

Mr Devine said a Murphy group trustee, Mr Denis Moore O'Farrell, of the Jersey office of Ernst and Whinney, had also instructed Mr Joseph Murphy snr that he should retire from the day-to-day management of the group and allow Mr Conroy to manage the group affairs.

Mr Devine said Mr Conroy, who has since died, was concerned to secure the resignation of Mr Gogarty because, he claimed, Mr Gogarty was interfering in the day-to-day running of the group when his role was merely non-executive chairman. According to Mr Devine, the Murphy group management of Mr Conroy, Mr Gerry Downes and Mr Marcus Sweeney was in serious dispute with Mr Gogarty.

Mr Devine said an ultimatum was put to Mr Murphy snr stating that if Mr Gogarty did not resign or was not removed, then Mr Conroy, Mr Sweeney and Mr Downes would resign. "Mr Murphy did not react one way or another. He just said `I'll talk to Jim'," Mr Devine said.

Mr Devine said Mr Gogarty declined to resign and the issue came to a head on June 6th, 1988, when it was proposed to hold a board meeting of Murphy group holding companies and remove Mr Gogarty from his position. Mr Devine said he had received proxy votes from Murphy group shareholders and constituent companies, and he believed he had a sufficient majority to remove Mr Gogarty.

However, in a dramatic move Mr Joe Murphy snr arrived with Mr Gogarty and advisers at his offices prior to the meeting. Mr Murphy declared "as Mr Conroy, Sweeney and Downes had resigned as directors, they had been replaced, and a new secretary had been appointed to all the Irish companies", Mr Devine said.

Mr Devine said in his view the three directors had not resigned. "They had not signed any documents", he said.