A detective Garda denied at the Special Criminal Court yesterday that he questioned Mr Colm Murphy, the only man charged in connection with the Omagh bomb, about other bombings in Northern Ireland.
Det Garda James B Hanley said the Omagh bomb was "our main focus". He said he had asked Mr Murphy about three cases of bombs found in the Republic in which he had been part of the investigating team.
Det Garda Hanley was being cross-examined on the 14th day of the trial of Mr Colm Murphy (49), a building contractor and publican, who has pleaded not guilty to conspiring with another person, not before the court, to cause an explosion in the State or elsewhere between August 13th and 16th, 1998. The accused is a native of Co Armagh with an address at Jordan's Corner, Ravensdale, Co Louth.
The prosecution is alleging Mr Murphy "lent aid" to the people who planted the Omagh bomb. Earlier in the trial Det Garda Hanley told the court Mr Murphy had admitted in interviews that he lent his mobile phone to known republicans, knowing it would be used for moving bombs. But Mr Murphy's counsel, Mr Michael O'Higgins SC, has said his client never made any admissions during questioning by the garda∅ in February 1999.
Yesterday, Det Garda Hanley denied he had questioned Mr Murphy about bombs in Portadown, Newry and Lisburn or that it was put to him that his phone was in those locations when the bombs went off. "I did not ask him and he was not asked in my presence."
The garda said he did not have a list of particular bombs in the North when he was interviewing Murphy.
He said he mentioned three bombs in the Republic, one in a car intercepted at D·n Laoghaire ferryport, one in a prefab in Dundalk and one intercepted after a chase near the Border north of Dundalk.
He said Mr Murphy had denied any knowledge of those bombs.
Det Garda Hanley denied a suggestion by Mr O'Higgins that references in the interviews to the Omagh bombing were "attributing to Mr Murphy the place of a guilty man". He added: "He had admitted he gave the telephones."
Det Garda Hanley said: "The notes accurately reflected what took place in the interviews. He was silent at times. He refused to answer questions at times." He said during the interviews Mr Murphy had general conversations with the garda∅ about republicanism and about the Continuity army council and Republican Sinn FΘin. The trial resumes today.