Owen Corrigan’s High Court challenge

RETIRED detective garda Owen Corrigan has welcomed a statement by the Smithwick Tribunal in the High Court last week that it had made no finding in its final report that the killing of Dundalk farmer Tom Oliver was as a result of information being provided to the Provisional IRA by him.

Det Sgt Corrigan had brought an action to the High Court as a result of certain aspects of the tribunal’s report but the court did not proceed with the judicial review case after the statement from the Smithwick Tribunal.

In March 2014, Mr Justice Michael Moriarty told the High Court that after ‘careful consideration’, he would grant leave to Mr Corrigan to bring his judicial review challenge aimed at quashing and removing certain findings relating to him in the tribunal report.

In his action, Mr Corrigan claimed he was denied fair procedures as he was not given advance notice that any finding in respect of Mr Oliver’s death could be made against him.

In making that finding, the tribunal acted outside its terms of reference, which was to investigate the allegation of collusion in the death of RUC officers, he claimed at the time.

Last week, Denis McDonald SC, acting for the tribunal, said, while the tribunal had accepted the evidence of Kevin Fulton, there was no finding in the report that the killing of Mr Oliver was as a result of information provided by Mr Corrigan to the IRA.

The case was before Mr Justice Seamus Noonan but Hugh Hartnett SC, for the former garda, confirmed the case could be struck out with no further order.

In a short statement afterwards, Owen Corrigan said he ‘welcomed the confirmation provided by the Smithwick Tribunal in The High Court that it did not make any finding in its report that the killing of Mr Tom Oliver was as a result of information being provided to the Provisional IRA by Mr Corrigan.’

He went on to thank his family, friends and supporters for all their help.

Mr Corrigan’s legal team, the court was told previously, described the tribunal findings as “completely false and damaging” to their client.

In its final report the Smithwick Tribunal said it accepted the evidence of Kevin Fulton, who said he had worked for British intelligence in the north, and who claimed Det Corrigan had given information to the IRA in 1991 that Tom Oliver was an informer. He was later abducted near the border and murdered. Mr Corrigan had always denied the claims of Mr Fulton.

The Smithwick Tribunal had been set up to look into the killing by the IRA in 1989 of two senior RUC officers, Chief Supt Harry Breen and Supt Robert Buchanan.