Adrienne McGlinchey was "manipulated" by gardaí in Donegal, according to her sister Karen, writes Carol Coulter, Legal Affairs Correspondent.
She was never a willing participant in the explosives finds made by two members of the force.
Ms McGlinchey was speaking on RTÉ radio yesterday, where she denied her sister was ever a Garda informer.
"She had nothing to inform about," she said. "She always denied she was a member of the IRA or an informer."
She welcomed the finding of the interim Morris report that the alleged explosive finds with which her sister was associated were hoaxes, and that Ms Adrienne McGlinchey's explanation of these events had been corroborated by a number of other witnesses before the tribunal.
Asked if her sister had "had chats" with members of the force in the family restaurant, Ms Karen McGlinchey said that the gardaí regularly spoke informally to various business people. They had spoken to her when she was working in the family restaurant.
"I had no idea these informal chats were part of reports going up to Dublin," she said.
She pointed out that her sister had waived her right to privilege relating to documents referring to her as an informer.
"She said she had absolutely nothing to hide. She always knew there was going to be a certain amount of damage to her. But at the end of the day it was an inquiry into the conduct of gardaí in Donegal, never into Adrienne McGlinchey."
Asked if her sister was "attention-seeking" and a "Walter Mitty character", Ms Karen McGlinchey said that these phrases had come up in a 1999 report from Sgt Danny Kelly.
"She was never going to get peace of mind until she told her full story."