Garda 'ashamed' of use of photos in interrogation

Morris tribunal: A retired garda sergeant said yesterday he was "deeply ashamed" that he had put a postmortem photograph of Richie Barron up to the face of a Raphoe publican while interrogating him.

Martin Moylan told the Morris tribunal he brought an album containing autopsy and scene-of-the-crime photographs into an interview with Mark Quinn, who was being questioned about events on the night in 1996 when the cattle dealer was killed.

Gardaí launched a murder investigation but the tribunal found he was killed in a hit-and-run incident.

Mr Moylan said he produced the photographs when he got frustrated and felt that Mr Quinn was being "flippant" in answering a question. "I got the photograph, the one of Richie Barron with the injury to his head, and put it up to his face," he said. "Well, I think he definitely got a shock all right."

He said something to Mr Quinn along the lines of: "Look at what happened to this man here. Poor Richie Barron, he got a horrible death. You know things happened in your place. Come on, tell us."

Mr Barron had been involved in an altercation with Mark McConnell in Mr Quinn's pub hours before his death.

Mr Moylan previously denied showing the photographs but last week he changed his evidence. "I'd just like to apologise for the incident to Mark Quinn and his wife and family for the distress as a result of my actions," he told Mr Justice Frederick Morris yesterday. "And also to the tribunal for any problems caused. I'm deeply ashamed and upset about it and distressed."

Asked why he showed the photographs to Mr Quinn, he said: "I wanted to bring across to him the seriousness of the case and the horrible death the man got and this was a murder investigation and things happened in his pub."

However, he said he knew nothing about an incident where Mr Quinn was given a box of chicken for his meal and told to remember the photographs of Mr Barron's brain when he was eating the chicken.

He also denied seeing Garda John O'Dowd pulling Mr Quinn across the table by the lapels. "I never saw anything like that. I'm absolutely certain."

Earlier Det Sgt Pádraic Scanlon apologised for making a statement referring to notes he took during his interview with Mr Quinn. He said he had assumed he had taken notes but they could not be found and he could not stand over his statement.