A Sligo man who became the first person to be convicted of a criminal offence in connection with the McBrearty affair, for making false statements to gardaí, has been given a three-year suspended sentence at Sligo Circuit Court.
Bernard Conlon (45), of Cartron Bay, Sligo, was found guilty on three counts of making false statements to gardaí after a two-week trial in March.
Passing sentence yesterday, Judge Carroll Moran said that on the case of the prosecution, Conlon was the person who had "the least serious involvement and was manipulated by others who have not been prosecuted". Taking that into account, it seemed to him that it would be wrong to impose an immediate prison sentence.
During the trial, the court was told that two gardaí, whose names cannot be published, were "the leaders and prime movers" in a plot against the McBrearty family. Conlon co-operated with them by making statements alleging that a nephew of Raphoe publican Mr Frank McBrearty and an employee of the family had called to his Sligo home and threatened him with a silver bullet.
The court heard how Conlon was given cash in brown envelopes on a number of occasions. He was also given a total of about £2,000 (€2,539) in expenses cheques for making court appearances, although he was usually driven in a Garda squad car to court in Co Donegal. A number of fake employment certificates, allegedly forged by gardaí to obtain these court expenses for Conlon, were produced in court.
In court yesterday, counsel for Conlon, Mr Colm Smyth SC, said his client was "the weakest link", and that the two gardaí had not made statements denying Conlon's allegations. Neither had been charged and both were still serving members of the Force.
Counsel for the State, Mr Paul McDermott, said it was not the position that prosecutions were not to be brought against others involved in the case. "Proceedings are contemplated against other persons - I can't say more than that," Mr McDermott said.
Judge Moran said he was also taking into account evidence from a psychiatrist and a psychologist that Conlon had a very low IQ and was "easy to manipulate".