A witness may have been reluctant to give a statement to gardaí about the whereabouts of Mr Frankie McBrearty jnr on the night Richie Barron died because of a "traditional reluctance to get involved" in a "fairly republican area", the Morris tribunal heard yesterday.
There had been a punishment beating in the area at the time, and people would be reluctant to have dealings with guards, Det Patrick Tague said.
The tribunal is examining the initial Garda investigation into the death of Mr Barron, a Raphoe cattle dealer, in October 1996.
Det Tague could not say if Donegal farmer Mr John Patton was reluctant to make a statement because the McBrearty family had been in a fight with IRA members who were on weekend release and being ejected from the club on the night he was there.
Mr John Patton's name was given to Insp McGinley in a sealed envelope containing a summary of meetings with Mr Patton by Det Tague and with Mr Patton's cousin, Garda Séamus Patton.
After Mr Patton said he "wanted nothing to do with the McBreartys", the detective assured Mr Patton he would not mention his name.
But 10 months later another garda, Det John O'Toole, told him he had been given Mr Patton's name by a source in Letterkenny.
Det Tague said it was "not intended" to give the impression in his report that Mr Frank McBrearty jnr, who Mr Patton was reported as having seen "in a rise state" outside his nightclub around the time Mr Barron died, was implicated in the death of the Raphoe farmer.
Mr Mark McConnell and Mr Frank McBrearty jnr "had clearly become suspects" by the time he went to see Mr Patton, a week after Mr Barron's death.
Garda Tague denied he had "made Frankie McBrearty a suspect".
The detective told Supt Kevin Lennon he was not aware of information that Mr Frankie McBrearty jnr had just ejected Mr Paul "Gazza" Gallagher from the disco, contained in statements from Mr McBrearty and from Mr Gallagher's former girlfriend, around the time he was seen by Mr John Patton.
Det Tague said he had not been given a job sheet to interview Mr Patton, and was asked if the daily garda conferences were "lackadaisical and not in accordance with proper procedure".
A second witness, Mr Robert Noel McBride, who provided information to the gardaí about the movements of Mr Frank McBrearty jnr, was referred to only as "Mr X" at conferences, although he was a "very considerable witness", the detective said.
Mr Justice Frederick Morris asked why the written account of his interviews with Mr Patton had not been given to Supt John J. Fitzgerald, who chaired the conferences at the incident centre.
The detective said he was relying on Insp McGinley to "give this fellow protection".