Lowry linked again to £4m Doncaster deal

A second document has emerged linking former minister Mr Michael Lowry to a £4 million property deal in Doncaster which Mr Denis O'Brien has said is exclusively his.

Mr Lowry's solicitors have written to the Moriarty tribunal saying any suggestion the former minister was involved in the Doncaster deal was erroneous.

Last year, The Irish Times disclosed that the English solicitor acting for the buyer of Doncaster Rovers Football Club Ltd had written a letter in September 1998 while under the impression that Mr Lowry was involved in the deal. Solicitor Mr Christopher Vaughan has said he was under a misapprehension at the time.

Yesterday the tribunal said it would hold a two- to three-week phase of public hearings on the matter. It also disclosed that a London solicitor, Ms Ruth Collard, took a note of a meeting in 2002 where there was a further mention of Mr Lowry being associated with the deal.

Ms Collard is a partner with a well-known London firm of solicitors, Carter Rook. A Dublin accountant, Mr Denis O'Connor, quoted in Ms Collard's note, has told the tribunal he believes her note is incorrect.

The note covers a September 2002 meeting in London attended by Mr O'Connor, Ms Collard, and a Mr Craig Tallents. It records Mr O'Connor saying he had been trying to sort out some matters for Mr Denis O'Brien snr.

Mr O'Brien snr, father of Mr Denis O'Brien, founder of Esat Digifone, had by 2002 taken over management of the Doncaster transaction. Mr O'Connor said he was trying to sort out the position with Mr Kevin Phelan, the Northern Irish businessman who first suggested the Doncaster deal, and had discussed the difficulties with Mr O'Brien snr. The note also records Mr O'Connor saying he was representing Mr Lowry.

Mr O'Connor has been acting as accountant to Mr Lowry and his firms for some years and has assisted the tribunal with its inquiries into Mr Lowry's affairs.

Doncaster Rovers Football Club was bought by an Isle of Man firm, Westferry Ltd, in 1998, with most of the money paid up front and some left in "retention" in a bank account until certain matters were cleared up. A subsequent dispute over the payment of these retention funds led to a threat of litigation from Mr Ken Richardson, the club's original owner, and to mediation hearings in London.

Mr Denis O'Brien has told the tribunal that Westferry bought Doncaster on behalf of a trust associated with his family and that the deal was fronted by his then accountant, Mr Aidan Phelan.

Ms Collard's note records Mr O'Connor saying that if the dispute with Mr Richardson went to court in London, it could cause embarrassment to Mr Lowry. When she asked how since Mr Lowry had no connection with Doncaster, the following was noted: "Denis O'Connor said that Michael Lowry did have a connection and that he had been in the room when discussions had taken place between Kevin Phelan and Ken Richardson regarding the lease. Ruth Collard said no one had ever suggested that to her previously." Ms Collard's note records her telling Mr O'Connor not to be too impressed by the threats he had heard.

During the negotiations between Mr Richardson and his associate, Mr Mark Weaver, and Mr O'Brien snr, Mr Richardson's side mentioned they had a letter from English solicitor Mr Vaughan that linked Mr Lowry to the Doncaster deal. They threatened to convey the letter to the tribunal or to the media. The matter was reported to the London police by Mr O'Brien snr.

It is not clear how Mr Richardson came to have the letter. The dispute with Westferry was settled before it came to court.