Lawlor disputes land ownership claim

Former Fianna Fáil TD Liam Lawlor has denied any ownership of the Coolamber lands which are currently under investigation by the tribunal.

Mr Lawlor said he believed Larry Goodman controlled the west Dublin land when it was purchased with a loan from Mr Goodman in 1987.

His evidence yesterday contradicted that of a former associate, solicitor, John Caldwell, who has told the tribunal that Mr Lawlor initially owned the land and then gave businessman Jim Kennedy a half-share.

Mr Goodman has given evidence he had no involvement with Coolamber, apart from lending Mr Lawlor the money to buy it.

Yesterday, Mr Lawlor denied that Mr Kennedy owned any share of the land and said he had no recollection of the latter's name being mentioned at a 1991 meeting he and Mr Caldwell had with Mr Goodman's adviser, Seán Mooney.

He said he felt like "wringing the neck" of Mr Caldwell after the solicitor warned Mr Mooney that court proceedings would be taken if Mr Goodman tried to take control of the land.

Describing the matter as a "horror story", he said it was "wholly despicable" of Mr Caldwell to say this. It was "laughable" to claim that he had given Mr Kennedy a 50 per cent share without any consideration.

He said Mr Goodman had made the finance available to buy Coolamber "in a heartbeat" at a meeting that "took less [ time] than Ronnie Delaney to run the mile". While Mr Goodman provided about £600,000, he didn't want any profit from the deal, according to Mr Lawlor.

Earlier, the tribunal heard fresh evidence of the business links between Mr Lawlor and Mr Kennedy.

Mr Lawlor, who has long denied having business dealings with Mr Kennedy, contracted to sell 23 acres of land at Lucan adjacent to the Coolamber land to a company owned by Mr Kennedy in 1986, according to documents disclosed at the inquiry.

The two men had "a number of private and internal arrangements which, given the sensitivity of Mr Lawlor's political position, would not be obvious to the outsider", a Bank of Ireland official noted at the time.

According to the official's memo, Mr Lawlor intended to sell the land to Catlan Investments, owned by Mr Kennedy.