Redmond 'in pocket', Kennedy told Stanley

Mahon Tribunal: Businessman Mr Jim Kennedy boasted about having George Redmond "in his pocket" and about taking him on foreign holidays, the tribunal heard.

Mr Sam Stanley, who acted as a land agent for Mr Kennedy in the 1980s, said his client described Redmond as "the secret of his planning success".

However, Mr Stanley said he didn't know if this was actually the case, just that Mr Kennedy was claiming it.

His first dealing with Mr Kennedy occurred in 1981, when he negotiated the sale of land at Ballyowen, Lucan, to a housebuilder for £3.5 million. Mr Kennedy made a large profit on his first major land "stroke" and "cheated the Revenue to boot".

Mr Kennedy never paid him for negotiating this sale in spite of the "super" price achieved. "So I decided not to get angry, just to get even," Mr Stanley told his solicitor in 1991.

Yesterday, he described Mr Kennedy as a "formidable adversary" with an "awesome reputation" in the courts. Another consideration was that he didn't have the resources to take Mr Kennedy on.

Mr Stanley said he didn't trust Mr Kennedy but decided to continue working for him in the hope of getting his money.

In conversations over this time, he said, Mr Kennedy let him in on the "secret of his planning success".

"The county manager, George Redmond, whom he sometimes referred to as J.R., was his cousin and in his pocket, as he put it. His phrase was, if it can be plumbed at all, George will colour it." Mr Stanley explained this reference by saying that Mr Kennedy loved to use the metaphor of "colouring the map".

This referred to the colours used on the map of the development plan to indicate land use for housing, industrial or other uses; "plumbing" was a reference to drainage.

Mr Stanley was engaged to acquire lands in the Carrickmines Valley for Mr Kennedy, who told him George Redmond had provided him with a "top secret" map of the drainage plan for the area. The witness said he never actually saw this map.

He found a local farmer, Mr Bob Tracey, who was willing to sell and protracted negotiations began involving the three men. Before Christmas 1990, Mr Kennedy rang to say Mr Stanley would soon be a millionaire.

"The lands will all be zoned for industrial and residential use. George has also arranged the Southern Cross route to suit the lands," Mr Kennedy is alleged to have said.

The witness said Mr Kennedy had plenty of cash at this time because his amusement arcade was taking in £11,000 a week.

In evidence, Mr Stanley said he wasn't averring that anything Mr Kennedy said about Redmond or anyone else was the truth. Mr Kennedy could be "economical with the truth" and sometimes his talk had to be taken "with a grain of salt". He accepted that Mr Kennedy and Redmond were not in fact related. He had no evidence or proof that Redmond was "in the pocket" of Mr Kennedy.

The witness claimed the attempt by Paisley Park to rezone its land at Carrickmines was "dead in the water" before the vote was taken. Councillors were astute individuals who knew well what was going on "behind the scenes" even if they pretended they didn't.

They generally followed a rule whereby councillors for the relevant area would propose rezonings.

However, the Carrickmines motion was put down by Cllr Don Lydon, who was "high status" but not from the area, and supported by Cllr Tom Hand, who wasn't from the area, either.

"This gave councillors a signal, like the flag you'd see on a beach that said it was unsafe to swim. Just as the colour of the flag said it wasn't safe to swim, this signal said it wasn't safe to vote for the motion."