Gardai have ruled out claims of paramilitary involvement in attacks on the business and home of the mayor of Kilkenny.
Alderman John McGuinness, who owns a haulage company in the city, has withdrawn from a £250,000 contract with an Armagh haulage company as a result of the attacks.
"It was a decision that had to be made. I can't deny that it had been coloured by the fact that my home had been broken into," he said yesterday.
The Duke Transport Company, based in Portadown, with which he had the contract, is owned by Mr Winston Duke, said to be a prominent unionist. The contract entailed Duke Transport trucks parking in Mr McGuinness's compound. About 11 trucks from Portadown had used the Kilkenny compound when Mr McGuinness received threatening phone calls.
Four weeks ago eight trucks in his compound were damaged and mobile phone parts stolen. There was speculation that the phone calls and vandalism were part of a campaign by local republicans to force Mr McGuinness to sever his connections with Mr Duke.
Gardai believe the damage to be vandalism by local juveniles. An attempt was also made to break into a grocery shop owned by the McGuinness family.