Solicitor told clients to have no dealings with Dunlop

Mahon tribunal: A solicitor acting for a consortium seeking to build a hotel beside Dublin airport strongly advised his clients to have no dealings with the lobbyist Frank Dunlop, the Mahon tribunal has heard.

The consortium purchased 18 acres of land at Cloghran just north of the M1 beside the airport in 1989 for £215,000. The lands were sold in March 1996, after they were rezoned for industrial purposes, for £1.6 million. The tribunal is investigating the rezoning of the lands in 1993.

Denis Murnaghan was advising the consortium of John Butler, Niall Kenny and Thomas Williams on the purchase of a nine-acre portion of the lands when he became aware they had become involved with Mr Dunlop.

He said it was his "very strong advice" to the consortium that they have nothing to do with Mr Dunlop because he suspected Mr Dunlop was paying councillors for rezoning decisions.

"The reason I said they should not have anything to do with him was, in my mind, I felt that what Mr Dunlop was doing in business was not proper."

Mr Murnaghan said he could not remember any particular event that had aroused suspicion in relation to Mr Dunlop, but he knew Mr Dunlop was available to "assist" people with planning difficulties.

He said he conveyed his misgivings to the consortium, but they decided to continue with their arrangements with Mr Dunlop.

"I felt, talking to Mr Kenny, that money was talking and that influenced the decision whether to go with Mr Dunlop or not," Mr Murnaghan told the tribunal. He said that at a later stage Mr Kenny confided that they had been "in too deep" or had "gone too far" with Mr Dunlop to break their arrangement.

When the consortium refused his advice, Mr Murnaghan decided to distance himself from them.

Mr Murnaghan said he already had "grave suspicions" about how the land at Cloghran had been acquired. The consortium had paid £50,000 for nine acres, which, even at the time, was a "very small sum", he said.

How his clients had come across the land was "something of a mystery to me", he said. The consortium seemed to "blow hot and cold" about the land, he said, which was "messy" for him.