‘Witness in Donohoe case sought Sinn Féin approval’
A DETECTIVE investigating the murder of a garda in Co. Louth approached Gerry Adams after a Sinn Féin member – a key witness in the case – would not make a statement before speaking to the party, it has been claimed.
Sinn Féin TD Darren O’Rourke said he understood Mr Adams spoke to the party member after Detective Inspector Pat Marry sought help from the ex-leader.
Mr O’Rourke denied there was a culture of fear in the party.
The Irish Times reported on Tuesday that the unnamed Sinn Féin member gave a statement on how he heard Aaron Brady confess to the murder of Detective Garda Adrian Donohoe during the robbery of Lordship Credit Union in Bellurgan in 2013.
Detective Inspector Marry told the newspaper he had to go to a Sinn Féin TD for help before the witness was told by the party that there were no issues with him providing information about the killing. A spokesman for Mr Adams, however, said yesterday there is no record the witness in question was a member of the party.
He said Sinn Féin passed any information available to them to the gardaí as part of their local efforts, helping the investigation which led to Aaron Brady’s conviction. Brady, a 29-year-old from Co. Armagh, was convicted of capital murder at Dublin’s Central Criminal Court last week.
Mr O’Rourke said: ‘The party has been very clear... that people should come and make statements and bring information they have to the guards and PSNI.
Asked if the TD involved was Mr Adams, Mr O’Rourke said: ‘It’s my understanding that it was.’
Commenting on the matter, Fine Gael TD Neale Richmond said: ‘Why does a Sinn Féin activist feel they need to speak with party officials before making a statement to the gardaí? Do Sinn Féin believe their authority comes before that of the State?’
The spokesman for Mr Adams said: ‘Gerry Adams publicly called on anyone with information to bring that forward to An Garda Síochána. Any information available from the community to Sinn Féin representatives was given to An Garda Síochána.’
The spokesman added: ‘It is nonsense to claim that Sinn Féin members need the party’s permission to co-operate with An Garda Síochána.’
‘It is nonsense to claim that’