Informer says he claimed murder of Cork man to have death investigated

A convicted murderer and former IRA activist turned informer, Mr Sean O'Callaghan, has told the High Court that he falsely claimed to have murdered Cork man Sean Corcoran in 1985, in an effort to have the man's death investigated.

He said he first met Mr Corcoran 18 months before he was murdered. He was in a car with him for just a few minutes and thought Mr Corcoran might have been working with the gardai.

Asked did he kill Mr Corcoran, he said: "I did not." He said he was not present when Mr Corcoran was killed and claimed he tried for 18 months to save Mr Corcoran's life.

After his first meeting with Mr Corcoran, Mr O'Callaghan spoke to a Garda contact about him and voiced his fears. He said the contact did not confirm Mr Corcoran was working with the gardai but was clearly shocked.

Mr O'Callaghan later continued to voice very strong fears for Mr Corcoran's life. Some IRA people were suspicious of Mr Corcoran and Mr Corcoran himself would behave in a manner that was putting his life in unnecessary danger.

He agreed he was arrested and questioned by gardai last week about the murder. He was released last Friday and no charge was preferred. He also said that he deliberately claimed responsibility for the murders of two Americans representing Noraid when in fact those murders never happened.

He said he had been officially asked questions by the gardai ab out statements he made to the RUC regarding his activities in the Republic and had said "No comment" at this stage. He expressed concern about incriminating himself. Mrs Justice McGuinness said he could raise the matter with her if he felt he was being put into that situation.

He denied that in a telephone conversation with Mr Gerry Colleran, a journalist, he had claimed to have committed six murders. He said he told Mr Colleran he carried out three - the two murders for which he was ultimately convicted - and that of Mr Corcoran. He said he could not recollect ever having had psychiatric treatment.

He was continuing his direct evidence on the second day of a libel action taken by Mr Thomas Murphy, a farmer, of Ballybinaby, Hackballscross, Co Louth, against the Sunday Times over an article in that newspaper on June 30th, 1985. In the article which dealt with a campaign to bomb English seaside resorts, it was stated: "The IRA's Army Council last February appointed a farmer in the Republic called `Slab' Murphy (which is not his real name) to be its operations commander for the whole of Northern Ireland."

In evidence to the court, Mr Murphy said he was known as "Slab" Murphy and, on reading the article on June 30th, 1985, understood it to refer to him.

Answering Mr Paul Gallagher SC, for the Sunday Times, Mr O'Callaghan said he attended a number of IRA meetings at a house in Co Kildare which, he said, was owned by Mr Uinseann Mac Eoin.

He also attended meetings of the IRA's southern command and believed two of these were at Mr Mac Eoin's house. He said "regular attenders" at meetings of the southern command between 1983 and 1985 were Mr Pat Doherty, Mr Dickie O'Neill, Mr Martin Ferris, Mr Tommy Devereaux, Mr Patrick Corry, Mr Kieran Dwyer, Mr Brendan Swords, Mr Kieran Conway "on occasions", Mr Sean Finn and Mr Jimmy Kavanagh. One of those meetings was attended by the then IRA chief of staff, Mr Kevin McKenna, he said.

Mr O'Callaghan said he was not a member of the IRA army council. He said there was an impromptu meeting once at Sinn Fein's offices at Parnell Square after a Sinn Fein National Executive meeting. He was told by Mr Pat Doherty a couple of people wanted a quick meeting.

He saw Mr Gerry Adams, Mr Martin McGuinness and Mr Joe Cahill. He said Mr Danny Morrison was also present but was not on the army council.

He was asked by Mr Doherty to investigate IRA structures in the South and to propose a way forward for the republican movement in the South. The meeting was simply to say the army council approved of his recommendations, he said.

He said Mr Murphy was looking for deer-culling rifles and some were stolen in Co Kerry. He had a conversation with Mr Murphy about arrangements for the rifles and Mr Murphy told him the material would need to be passed on to a Mr Brennan from Dundalk. He told Mr Murphy he would liaIse with Dickie O'Neill and that was what happened.

Mr O'Callaghan said the south Armagh brigade of the IRA was recognised as the most active and most effective in IRA terms. He said it came across strongly that Mr Murphy believed the brigade was the best in terms of IRA operations.

He volunteered to go to England in 1983 to plant 16 small bombs on English beaches and to attempt to murder Prince Charles and Princess Diana at the Dominion Theatre. He was in contact with the gardai at that time and gave information to them about the mission.

As a result the bombs did not go off and the plan to kill Prince Charles and his wife was aborted, he said. He worked with the IRA's England department regarding that mission.

He was aware a number of people were later arrested in Glasgow, including Patrick Magee, subsequently jailed for the Brighton bombing, Ms Martina Andersen and Ms Ella O'Dwyer. His contacts with the authorities were confined to one garda until after 1985 when he had contact with the English police through an arrangement made by the Garda.

He said the IRA trained people in various techniques aimed at coping with interrogation. He had a false passport when he was with the IRA, which he was given this after a meeting with Mr Mick Hayes and Mr Owenie Coogan in Ballymun. Concluding his direct evidence, he agreed the IRA had mounted a campaign to discredit him.