Gardaí appeal to caller over Barron death

Gardaí have appealed to a man who rang the Garda Confidential line over the death of Richie Barron to come forward again.

The man called the phone line on June 2nd last in relation to the death of the Donegal cattle-dealer, a Garda statement issued today said. It added that they wished to speak to the individual again in confidence.

The original call was made the day after Mr Justice Frederick Morris published his report on the death of Mr Barron. That report found that the Garda investigation into the death was prejudiced and negligent and two men were framed by gardai for murder.

Minister for Justice Michael McDowell said the report's conclusions were "extremely serious, at times shocking".

The report found the investigation into the hit-and-run in which Mr Barron died in October 1996 near Raphoe, Co Donegal was lacking from the outset and was a "justifiable cause of scandal".

He found the gardai were so slow to respond to the emergency call in which the Barron incident was reported, that the body had been removed to Letterkenny General Hospital before they arrived at the scene.

Contrary to required practice, the scene was not preserved and the body or clothing of Mr Barron was not preserved at the hospital.

One of the most serious criticisms of the investigation was the failure to order a forensic post mortem after the standard procedure was carried out at the hospital.

Despite this, a murder inquiry was launched based on the word of a local informer who, the tribunal found, had been coerced into making a statement against local man Frank McBrearty Jr and his cousin Mark McConnell.

Three gardaí have been dismissed from the force, while five more have been transferred to Garda headquarters in Dublin and could yet face disciplinary action on foot of the investigation into the death of Mr Barron. The Confidential Phone number is 1-800-666-111.