There wasn't much on television that Sunday night, June 19th, 1994, and Mr James Gogarty retired to bed early. His wife was visiting relatives and the then 77-year-old former JMSE executive was alone in the family house in Sutton. Sometime after 2 a.m., the phone rang. A man spoke, and Mr Gogarty says he recognised him as Mr Joseph Murphy jnr, son of his long-time boss, Mr Joseph Murphy snr.
What passed for conversation then on the night of June 19th, 1994, is disputed, but it goes a long way towards explaining why the planning tribunal is in existence today. The experience left Mr Gogarty and his wife "frightened out of their wits," he told the tribunal in evidence yesterday.
"I'm going out to your house and I'll break every f. . .ing bone in your body and then I'll kick the f.. .ing shite out of you and when I'm finished with you you won't have a roof over your head, and I'll put a stop to all your legal hassles," Mr Murphy is alleged to have said.
Mr Gogarty was at the time engaged in one of his many legal bouts with JMSE, this time over his demand for a correct P60 in respect of consultancy fees. He won the case in the Circuit Court in March 1994, but the company appealed the judgment.
He said Mr Murphy accused him of writing to the Revenue Commissioners about the case and bringing them in to JMSE.
"I said: `I did not, and I'll bet you £5 I didn't and what's more if you can produce a letter which I wrote to the Revenue, I'll eat it in your presence' ". Mr Murphy called him "a liar".
The conversation continued in such abusive terms until Mr Gogarty hung up. He dialled 999 and spoke to the gardai. "I was very upset and felt weak at the time, fearful, while expecting the police. I took a drink of water and lay back on my bed to rest when the phone rang again. Thinking it was the police, I lifted the receiver and was shocked to hear him again."
Mr Gogarty said the threats were repeated. His wife, Anna, arrived home and listened in to part of the conversation. She has furnished a statement to the tribunal.
The gardai arrived and Mr Gogarty hung up again. "I was exhausted at the time and felt very weak, and both Anna and I were very distressed. She made me a cup of tea which I drank and I discussed the phone calls with the two policemen." Mr Murphy had a previous conviction for assault, he claimed.
A week later there was another phone call during which the caller claimed to be from the gardai in Howth. i. And Later, Mr Gogarty met Mr Murphy jnr subsequently to sort out their differences, but instead there was "a bit of a barney".
The matter could have been sorted out with "a bit of good will and decency," Mr Gogarty told the tribunal. Instead, JMSE sued him for a month's consultancy fees - and lost.
Mr Gogarty was in fighting form in the witness box yesterday, vowing to fight to protect his wife and home "to the last drop of blood". When Mr Garrett Cooney SC, for JMSE, argued successfully that he should not be allowed to refer to an article which made damaging claims about the financial controller of the company, Mr Roger Copsey, Mr Gogarty railed against the ruling of the chairman.
"What's Mr Cooney afraid of, the public are interested," he asked. "I'll go up to Mountjoy if they are afraid of the truth."
That necessitated a short break, after which the witness apologised.
Mr Gogarty has performed far better in the witness-box than most people had expected, and there are good grounds for believing that he may stand up well under cross-examination.
As for courtroom procedures, he said yesterday at one point: "I'm not a lawyer but I'm learning a lot".