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A former employee of Jim Mansfield Jnr who claims the businessman set him up to be falsely imprisoned by a gang has denied that he is someone who makes himself look important and likes “a bit of grandiosity”.
The State's witness Martin Byrne (53), who is now in the Witness Protection Programme and was the in-house security director of Citywest Hotel, was being cross-examined on Tuesday at the non-jury Special Criminal Court trial of Mr Mansfield Jnr (53).
Mr Byrne told the three-judge court in his direct evidence last Friday that his former employer Mr Mansfield Jnr arranged meetings with the New IRA and the INLA to “assist” in getting back parts of his family’s former property portfolio.
The former security boss testified that €2,500 in protection money was being paid by Mr Mansfield Jnr and another man per week to the Real IRA in order to protect the accused from two Traveller gangs, who claimed they were owed money from the accused.
Mr Byrne also said in his examination-in-chief that after a separate meeting with former INLA man Dessie O’Hare and former republican paramilitary Declan “Whacker” Duffy, he asked Mr Mansfield Jnr if he realised how dangerous these people were. However, the witness testified that the accused replied he “did not care” and “was going to get back what was his.”
Mr Byrne told the court Mr Mansfield Jnr was “a couple of feet away” when he was taken prisoner by a gang of seven men, which included O’Hare and Duffy. Mr Byrne testified that he believed Mr Mansfield Jnr had set him up.
Mr Mansfield Jnr, of Tasaggart House, Garters Lane, Saggart, Co Dublin, is accused of conspiring with one or more persons to falsely imprison Martin Byrne on a date unknown between January 1st, 2015 and June 30th, 2015, both dates inclusive.
He is also charged with attempting to pervert the course of justice by directing Patrick Byrne to destroy recorded CCTV footage, with the alleged intention of perverting the course of public justice in relation to the false imprisonment of Mr Byrne at Finnstown House Hotel, Newcastle Road, Lucan, Co Dublin between June 9th, 2015 and June 12th, 2015.
Citywest security
It is the prosecution’s case that Mr Mansfield Jnr “effectively delivered” Mr Byrne, who was hired as the in-house security director of Citywest Hotel in Saggart in about 2005 by Jim Mansfield Snr, into the arms of a group of men who falsely imprisoned him and his family five years ago.
Under cross-examination on Tuesday from defence counsel Bernard Condon SC, Mr Byrne said he had a career in security and worked for a company called Securiforce for one year in the early 1990s. Mr Byrne said he then worked in security for the Irish Film Centre in the mid-1990's and then for Citywest from 2005 until 2012.
Counsel for Mr Mansfield Jnr put it to Mr Byrne that he had described himself as a hair specialist at one stage, which the witness accepted. Mr Byrne agreed that his introduction into the Mansfields' affairs was when he ran a business at the European Hair Centre in the Citywest complex.
The key prosecution witness acknowledged that he had taken many security courses with the Security Institute of Ireland and had worked with a number of celebrities, including Michael Flatley. "I wasn't employed by him but I met him at Citywest. I was responsible for security for the event 'Lord of the Dance'," explained Mr Byrne.
Mr Condon asked the witness if he had worked for the CEO of Hewlett Packard. "I was looking after his protection and liaised with him," said Mr Byrne. The barrister said that the impression one might get was that Mr Byrne had been employed by the CEO of Hewlett Packard. "That wasn't what I said," he replied.
Firearms training
The witness said he had trained in the use of firearms in Krakow in Poland in 2006 as there was no firearms training available in Ireland at the time.
During one stage of his cross-examination, Mr Condon asked the witness why it appeared on his LinkedIn page that he held the executive position of director of international operations with Control Risk Management Solutions, when he had previously told the court that he was a non-executive training consultant with the company. “They wanted me to leave Citywest and become involved in the company full time and this was the position I was requested to work in,” he replied.
The lawyer put it to the witness that he was someone who liked to make himself important. “I don’t need to make myself important,” replied Mr Byrne.
Mr Condon suggested that the witness liked a “bit of grandiosity”, to which Mr Byrne said: “That’s your opinion.”
Asked about the day that Citywest Hotel went into receivership in 2010, Mr Byrne said the accounts office had contacted Jim Mansfield’s Snr office to say the receiver Martin Ferris was coming in imminently. “No one could believe what was happening so when the receiver presented himself at reception to go to Jim Mansfield Snr’s office, that’s when I followed him up the stairs,” he said, adding that he had not been invited to the meeting but it was an “open-door office” and anyone could pop in.
Mr Byrne denied the proposition from the defence that he was never at this meeting and insisted he was.
Mr Byrne said Mr Mansfield’s Jnr secretary, Sally Anne Browne, may also have been present amongst others at the meeting that day.
The barrister asked Mr Byrne if he had ever recounted Ms Browne at the meeting before and he said he did not recall. Mr Condon suggested to the witness that he was making it up as he went along and had never previously referred to Ms Browne being there. The witness denied this.
Dalata group
Last week, the three-judge court heard evidence that Citywest Hotel went into receivership in 2011 and the Dalata Hotel Group came in to manage the hotel on behalf of Bank of Scotland. Mr Byrne was asked by the Dalata Group to stay on as head of security during the transition, which he said he agreed to and added that his involvement with the Mansfields did not end there.
Mr Byrne testified that three key assets belonging to the Mansfields — Saggart Lodge Court which comprised of 30 town-houses and 100 apartments, a piece of land known as "Paddy Reilly's Field" at the back of the Citywest Hotel off the N7 and Finnstown House Hotel — later went into receivership and a third party, who was an old friend of Jim Mansfield Snr, was brought in to act on behalf of the family and retain the properties on their behalf. Mr Byrne said that "Paddy Reilly's field" was purchased for around €30 million during the boom and the initial agreement with the receiver for the site was for €800,000.
“It was always the understanding that the Mansfields would get the properties back, originally on the basis that the receivership was illegal and they should not have come in when they did”, said Mr Byrne, adding that a financial backer or “funder” then helped the third party buy “Paddy Reilly’s Field” from the receiver.
In his evidence last week, Mr Byrne explained how the Mansfields had retained control of three pieces of land around the family home, Tasaggart House, which were dubbed “ransom strips” as they had key access routes to the Citywest Hotel and other properties which could not be sold without them. The Mansfields believed that by having these “ransom strips on the table” they could negotiate getting control of their other properties within the portfolio back, he continued.
It was understood that money was to be paid by the accused to the third party to buy back “Paddy Reilly’s Field” but this was never paid over, which led to a fall out between Mr Mansfield Jnr and the third party , he said.
The security boss said he was asked to assist the accused to try and resolve the dispute and gain back control of the properties, which the third partynow had in his possession. A series of meetings between the two sides were set up, said Mr Byrne, adding that he was the “go-between” between both parties.
The trial continues before Mr Justice Alexander Owens presiding, sitting with Judge Sinead Ni Chulachain and Judge James Faughnan.
Border Fox
In April 2019, former INLA man Dessie O’Hare, who was known as “The Border Fox”, was jailed by the Special Criminal Court for three years for assaulting John Roche and 10 years with three suspended for the rest of his life for falsely imprisoning Martin Byrne.
The sentences were to run concurrently. The 63-year-old, of Slate Rock Road, Newtownhamilton, Co Armagh, admitted to assaulting Mr Roche, causing him harm, at The Towers, Garter Lane, Saggart, County Dublin on June 9th, 2015. O'Hare also pleaded guilty to falsely imprisoning Martin Byrne at Rathcoole and Saggart on the same date.
Former republican paramilitary Declan “Whacker” Duffy was sentenced by the Special Criminal Court to six years imprisonment in 2018 after pleading guilty to assaulting John Roche, causing him harm, at The Towers, Garter Lane, Saggart, County Dublin on June 9, 2015. He also admitted falsely imprisoning Martin Byrne at Rathcoole/Saggart on the same date.