A former garda said he was "disgusted" by a suggestion from a barrister that he killed Raphoe cattle dealer Mr Richie Barron, who died in October 1996. "It's a disgusting remark," Mr John O'Dowd told the tribunal.
Tribunal barrister Mr Peter Charleton SC said a man identifying himself as a garda stopped Mr Éamon Strain the night Mr Barron died, asking about the accident. Mr Strain said he was stopped after dropping his girlfriend home, which her brother placed between 12.30 and 1 a.m.
"If that is the case, and you knew that Mr Barron was dead, you had to be the one that killed him," said Mr Charleton. Mr O'Dowd said he had not stopped Mr Strain until an hour later.
"That is pure nonsense," said Mr O'Dowd. "I'm giving my evidence on oath here, and I had nothing to do with it," he said, taking the Bible in his hand.
The former garda said he was in the pub with on-duty colleague Garda Pádraig Mulligan, and was afraid to say where he was in case his friend was fired. Both were dismissed last year. "Were you covering something far more grievous than Mulligan being in a pub?" asked the chairman. "Absolutely not," said Mr O'Dowd.