The secretary general to President Mary McAleese has rejected claims that he intensely disliked Bridget Conway or that such an alleged "personal animus" by him towards her was behind an investigation into allegations of bullying made against Ms Conway.
Brian McCarthy also strongly denied claims by Ms Conway that he resented her relationship with the President. He had no recollection of the President requesting that Ms Conway specifically accompany her on a visit to a hospital in Northern Ireland on one occasion, he added.
Ms Conway's allegations against him were inconsistent with the fact that he had twice approved her for promotion since he was appointed in 1997, he added.
The alleged flouting of normal working practices was what was at issue in this case, he said in an affidavit.
In another affidavit, personnel officer Loughlin Quinn also rejected the allegations made against him and said he had no motive whatsoever to harass Ms Conway. His sole motivation was to ensure a proper investigation of all matters.
In submissions yesterday, Mark Connaughton SC, for the State, said the court was precluded from making any determination of the facts. Ms Conway was portraying the proposed investigation as a third disciplinary investigation but that was not so. Her allegations involved the "demonisation" of Mr McCarthy and Mr Quinn, he said.