Mahon line of questioning criticised: Gilmartin son unhappy with tactics

Thomas Gilmartin jnr yesterday criticised the line of questioning his father faced at the Mahon tribunal.

The Mahon tribunal into planning corruption, which reported last week, concluded that Mr Gilmartin gave his evidence “in the honest belief that such evidence was true and accurate”.

It upheld many of the allegations he made, including that the late Liam Lawlor asked him for £100,000 and a 20 per cent stake in his business, and that Cork developer Owen O’Callaghan had told Mr Gilmartin he made payments totalling £80,000 to Mr Ahern.

Mr Gilmartin had been cross- examined for many hours in the course of giving evidence to the tribunal.

In October 2007, Colm Ó hOisín SC, for Mr Ahern, asked him about his mental health and asked if he ever discussed any of the “issues and allegations” he had “against the world with any medical adviser”.

Speaking on RTÉ Radio One’s This Week programme yesterday, Mr Gilmartin jnr said the questioning was extremely unpleasant. “The implication they were trying to put across was that his evidence couldn’t be relied on because there was something wrong with him. Even if he denied it, the point was put out there.”

It was a very tough time for his father, he added, but the family was now very happy he had been vindicated by the report.

In 1999, when questioned about the tribunal on the Late Late Show, Pádraig Flynn said Mr Gilmartin snr was unwell and “out of sorts. He’s a Sligo man who went to England and made a lot of money. Came back. Wanted to do a lot of business in Ireland. Didn’t work out for him. He’s not well. His wife isn’t well. And he’s out of sorts,” Mr Flynn said.

It is believed the comments prompted Mr Gilmartin to give evidence to the hearing.