Smithwick told of 'unknown' inquiry

Former Garda commissioner Noel Conroy has been questioned at the Smithwick Tribunal about a previously unknown investigation into how key garda information became known to the IRA.

The investigation and report into how the IRA came into possession of Garda documents was carried out by Mr Conroy in 1991 when he was a chief superintendent. It was not mentioned by him when he gave previous evidence to the Smithwick tribunal in September 2011.

The tribunal is investigating allegations that members of the Garda leaked information to the IRA that facilitated the killings of RUC officers chief supt Harry Breen and supt Bob Buchanan in south Armagh in 1989.

Mary Laverty SC for the tribunal said it had only become aware of Mr Conroy’s 1991 report entitled “Alleged leaks of Information to the IRA” in recent weeks through references made by a former deputy assistant chief constable of Northern Ireland, identified only as Witness 68.

Witness 68 said he had carried out a contemporaneous investigation to the Conroy report. This parallel RUC report had expressed “grave concern” and “established beyond doubt” information was leaked to the IRA from a number of Garda stations in Donegal.

Mr Conroy’s report had concluded it could not be established where the  leaks came from. He told the tribunal he had not ruled out the possibility of a garda leak, but had been faced a lack of co-operation from potential civilian witnesses and had nothing definitive to go on.

Mrs Laverty said the tribunal may never have known of Mr Conroy's report had it not been for the information supplied by Witness 68.

She asked if Mr Conroy was aware of any other reports which the tribunal did not have and of which he may be aware. Mr Conroy said he was not aware of any other reports.

Mark Robinson for the PSNI asked Mr Conroy if it was the case that information might not be offered by him unless it was specifically asked for. Mr Conroy said he was "not trying to hide information from the tribunal. Far be it from the truth".

Jim O’Callaghan, SC for former Dundalk det sgt Owen Corrigan, put it to Mr Conroy that his 1991 concerned alleged leaks in the Donegal Border area. The investigation had happened after his client had left the force and were unrelated to the Dundalk area. Mr Conroy agreed this was the case.

In his evidence Mr Conroy said he had been asked to investigate media reports that the   IRA had copies of a Garda "Fogra Tora" which named loyalist suspects in the February 1987 bombings in Balleybofey, Co Donegal.  One suspect and alleged loyalist volunteer Ian Sproule, who was named in the Fogra Tora was killed by the IRA. A second named suspect escaped. Garda had circulated a “fogra tora” (information booklet) to Garda stations, the RUC and Interpol.

Claiming it had killed Sproule the IRA had produced copies of the Fogra Tora. The Irish Times carried a report on this on April 17th, 1991, and the same day Mr Conroy was asked by the then Garda commissioner to go to Donegal and investigate and report on the allegations.