Proceedings for defamation had been taken out against Mr James Gogarty by Mr Ray Burke but he denied his evidence to the tribunal was determined by what information his solicitors had gleaned in correspondence in relation to the writ.
Mr Frank Callanan SC, for Mr Gogarty, asked Mr Burke if he instituted proceedings seeking damages for libel against Mr Gogarty. Mr Burke said the writ was issued on August 14th, 1997. Mr Callanan said Mr Burke in his press statement of August 7th, 1997, admitted the receipt of £30,000 from JMSE, so what was the defamation he was alleging against Mr Gogarty?
Mr Burke said there had been other articles. He did not have them there with him but there were other articles that were printed after August 7th on the following Sunday and he, in consultation with his legal advisers, decided to take action.
Mr Callanan said in his Dail statement, Mr Burke introduced a letter from his solicitors, Gore Grimes, and a letter which they wrote to Fitzsimons Redmond for Murphys and a reply from them and to solicitors for Baileys/ Bovale. Mr Burke's solicitors had asked solicitors for Murphys and Baileys three questions: whether Mr Joseph Murphy jnr was present at the time Mr Gogarty handed the political contribution of £30,000 to Mr Burke; whether Mr Murphy ever met Mr Burke and if so when, where and on what basis; and asking in relation to identification of the source of the payment. Mr Callanan asked why did his solicitors found it necessary to ask the first question. Mr Burke said the particular point as to whether three, four or five people were present was relevant in proceedings, he assumed.
Counsel said Mr Burke had told them that the purpose was not in relation to a statement of claim but in relation to the Dail statement.
Mr Burke said that was why he brought those letters with him, so that he could be accurate with Dail Eireann.
Mr Callanan said: "I want to put it to you that the purpose in instructing your solicitors to make those inquiries was first of all to have the responses available for the statement to the Dail and secondly to make sure that you, JMSE and Bovale were singing from the same hymn sheet."
Mr Burke responded: "Ah, now you're not just calling me a liar at this stage, you're calling my distinguished firm of solicitors, Gore Grimes, liars. They were the ones that wrote the letter on the basis of preparation."
Mr Callanan said he was suggesting that Mr Burke's evidence about what transpired at his house in June 1989 was determined by what he was told by Mr Bailey at his meeting or meetings and by the information gleaned through his solicitors' correspondence. Mr Burke said his recollection of the meeting was absolutely clear. Counsel asked why he was taking the action against Mr Gogarty alone rather than Mr Gogarty and the newspaper publishing what Mr Burke said were defamatory allegations.
"I made a point in my whole public life, that I have never ever, despite some of the outrageous things that have been said of me right down through my whole public life, I've never taken an action against a newspaper in all my life and I wasn't going to start then."