A Dublin garage-owner who arranged a meeting in his home between the developer, Mr Michael Bailey, and the former assistant Dublin city and county manager, Mr George Redmond, has told the tribunal he knows nothing about what happened at it. Mr Gerard Brady said Mr Bailey asked him to set up the meeting with Mr Redmond, who lived across the road from him (Mr Brady) in Deerpark, Castleknock. He introduced the two men, and then left. Asked when the meeting took place, he said he thought it was around 1990, but it could have been "a couple of years on either side" of that.
Mr Brady, who runs a garage on the Navan Road, said he knew Mr Bailey as a customer for over 20 years. He was very friendly with him, they played golf together and many of Mr Bailey's family had bought cars from him.
His knowledge of Mr Redmond dated from 1986-87, when he visited him in his offices in Dublin County Council about a planning application for his garage. Subsequently, Mr Redmond bought a car from him and the two men got to know each other better.
In earlier evidence, Mr Bailey told the tribunal he first met Mr Redmond by chance in the Phoenix Park.
Yesterday, the witness told Ms Patricia Dillon, barrister, for the tribunal, that he had no idea whether Mr Bailey and Mr Redmond knew each other already before they met in his house.
Mr Brian O'Moore SC, for Mr James Gogarty, suggested to him that if Mr Bailey and Mr Redmond knew each other prior to the meeting in Mr Brady's house, they could simply have met in Mr Redmond's house.
Mr Brady said he supposed that was "a fair thing to say".
The tribunal resumes next Tuesday with the cross-examination of Mr Redmond by his own solicitor, Mr Anthony Harris. The next scheduled witness is Mr Batt O'Shea, now in his mid-80s, a builder and former business associate of Mr Joseph Murphy snr.
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