Larkin spoke to Ahern about inquiry

Celia Larkin has told the Mahon tribunal that she spoke to Taoiseach Bertie Ahern before her appearance at the inquiry.

Celia Larkin has told the Mahon tribunal that she spoke to Taoiseach Bertie Ahern before her appearance at the inquiry.

Questioned by tribunal judge Gerald Keys on whether she had had "assistance" from anyone in clarifying matters for her before her solicitor's recent letter to the tribunal, Ms Larkin said she had not received any assistance.

She said she had spoken to Mr Ahern after she had been contacted by the tribunal and it was he that had told her on what weekend it was that the events about which she is being questioned took place.

Ms Larkin said she would not consider this assistance.

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Mr Keys said it was not a "trick question" and asked if Mr Ahern had helped her memory of being at St Luke's on the weekend in question.

Asked how she could "just suddenly come to remember" that she was in Mr Ahern's office at St Luke's when Mr Wall brought the money, Ms Larkin said she had been able to "piece it together" over a period of time.

Ms Larkin said that when she spoke to Mr Ahern they discussed a "house file" he should have had showing how the money for the Beresford house was spent.

Ms Larkin said in her contacts with Mr Ahern he asked her for details of "what happened in relation to the house and the accounts".

She said he asked her because the bank accounts were in her name. Ms Larkin said she told Mr Ahern she would get the information from the bank. However, asked what she told Mr Ahern before she sought information from the bank, Ms Larkin said: "I don't recall."

Ms Larkin is this afternoon being questioned on the withdrawal of £50,000 from a deposit account on January 19th, 1995. The money had been used to open an account just a month before.

Ms Larkin said she took the money in a bag or parcel from AIB in O'Connell Street and recalls that she brought it back to St Luke's and it was given back to Mr Ahern.

Ms Larkin's solicitor interrupted the questioning at one point to say he did not see the point of the questions. He accused tribunal counsel Henry Murphy SC of being "disrespectful" to the witness and of pursuing a "totally unneccessary" line of questioning.

Mr Murphy told Ms Larkin that if she believed him to have been disrespectful, he did not intend that. "I accept your apology," she replied, to laughter from the public gallery.

Tribunal chairman Alan Mahon told members of the public they were to remain "absolutely quiet" during the testimony.

Describing her contacts with Mr Ahern in relation to the tribunal, Ms Larkin said she had sought information relating to the house at 44 Beresford Avenue because she was concerned about the breakdown of funds in the accounts involved.

She recalled getting the information from Jim McNamara of AIB but could not recall getting a printed document, shown to the tribunal today. Ms Larkin said she believed she had written down information given to her by Mr McNamara in relation to each of the transactions involved.

Asked by Mr Murphy about the information she had given to Mr Ahern, Ms Larkin said she had certainly given him information in relation to the house on Beresford Avenue. However, all this information was available in a "house file" which Mr Ahern had, she said. "He wanted the detail and I gave him the detail and told him where to find the detail [in the house file]," she said.

Ms Larkin said she could not recall the specific detail of the contact because "I was not in a relationship with Bertie at this stage. I was not in ongoing contact."

Mr Murphy put it to Ms Larkin that she "must give" Mr Ahern the information so that he could do his business with the tribunal. "I certainly told him, yeah," she said. "That's not indiscreet."