Smithwick witness 'victim of conspiracy'

A former detective sergeant based in Dundalk this morning claimed he was the victim of a British government conspiracy to deflect attention from RUC/loyalist collusion.

Owen Corrigan told the Smithwick Tribunal allegations he colluded in targeting RUC officers for murder were part of a plan to deflect attention from British security service collusion with loyalist death squads.

Mr Corrigan told the tribunal "the Irish Government went to Weston Park (a British/Irish summit held at Weston Park in the UK) to complain" of British security force collusion in murders of members of the nationalist community in Northern Ireland.

But he said the British side had produced "a paid agent" known as Peter Keeley to make counter allegations alleging a garda in Dundalk was passing information to the IRA. Mr Corrigan said the result was that he had become the victim of "a monstrous lie".

Mr Corrigan said there had been no mention of Garda/IRA collusion before the Weston Park summit and afterwards Mr Keeley had been primed to tell lies about him.

However Neil Rafferty, counsel for Mr Keeley, said Mr Corrigan's evidence was inaccurate. He said Mr Corrigan had been named in a book Bandit Country: The IRA & South Armagh by journalist Toby Harnden in November 1989, pre-dating the Weston Park summit which did not take place until July 2001. Mr Rafferty also said Mr Corrigan had been named by Jeffrey Donaldson MP under House of Commons privilege in early 2000, again pre-dating the Weston Park Summit.

He said Mr Corrigan was "making up this British conspiracy because it is the oldest trick in Irish political life". He said: "when the going gets tough you play the orange or green card" and he maintained "what you are doing by blaming the big bad Brits is playing the green card".

Earlier counsel for the tribunal Justin Dillon SC said Mr Corrigan's name had been put forward by five sources, as someone who was assisting the IRA. These included the businessman John McAnulty who was later murdered by the IRA; Mr Keeley; the intelligence agent Ian Hurst; Mr Donaldson and Mr Alan Mains, an RUC officer.

Mr Dillon said given these allegations it was crucial that Mr Corrigan tell the tribunal where he was working the day RUC officers chief supt Harry Breen and supt Bob Buchanan were murdered by the IRA. The officers were shot dead in south Armagh minutes after leaving a meeting in Dundalk Garda station.

However Mr Corrigan said he could not remember the specifics of where he was working on March 20, 1989, as it was "a long time ago".