Detective tells of visiting Gogarty home

A detective garda attached to Howth Garda station visited the home of Mr James Gogarty in October 1991, after the station received a report of a broken window at the house, although it was not usual for him to visit the scenes of minor malicious damage incidents and he could not recall yesterday who had asked him to go.

Det Garda Edward Grace told the tribunal that as an experienced detective he would not normally have been asked to visit the scene of malicious damage reports.

In this case he said the request "would have been from the station" but he could not say who would have requested him to visit the Gogarty home.

He later said that nobody had directed him to go: "I was just aware that this incident had happened and I went to view it myself."

Det Garda Grace said that there had been a suggestion that a firearm had been used in the attack on the window and he would probably have heard that suggestion at the station.

He added that the suggestion would probably have arisen because there were two holes in the window and they could have been caused by a pellet gun.

Det Garda Grace said that he had discounted the use of a firearm after Garda Michael Duffy's examination of the area.

However, counsel for the tribunal, Mr John Gallagher SC, read from a statement submitted by Sgt John McInerney, of Howth Garda station, to the effect that "the damage was caused to a front window by what appeared to be an air-rifle . . ."

Mr Gallagher said he was seeking to understand how Sgt McInerney had come to that conclusion and whether Det Garda Grace had formed the same conclusion.

Following a question put directly to him by the chairman, Mr Justice Flood, Det Garda Grace said that he did not advise any member of the Garda iochana that the holes had been caused by a pellet.

Under cross-examination, Sgt McInerney said his statement, which had been partially read out, was made on the basis of a query he had made in 1996, in response to a Dail question.

He said he discussed the matter with the investigating garda, Garda Michael Duffy, and Garda Duffy had said that he had reported a pellet gun may have been used, not that it had been used.

"He did not say that a pellet gun was used, but basically it could appear that a pellet gun was used,"