The daughter of a Fianna Fáil activist told the Mahon tribunal yesterday she was almost certain Senator Don Lydon attended her father's funeral on the morning he was alleged to have received a £3,000 bribe from the lobbyist Mr Frank Dunlop. Alison Healy reports.
Mr Dunlop had claimed he had made the payment to Mr Lydon on Monday, May 4th, 1992, so that he would vote in favour of a motion to rezone lands at Carrickmines in south Dublin.
Ms Éimear McAuliffe from Cabinteely told the tribunal her father, Seán Frost, had died suddenly in May 1992 and his funeral was held in Sallynoggin on May 4th. She knew Mr Lydon "reasonably well" and she was "80 to 90 per cent certain" that she saw him outside the church in Sallynoggin on the morning of the funeral.
She believed she saw him at about 11 a.m, standing to her right with a group of Fianna Fáil people.
Mr Dunlop had told the tribunal he met Mr Lydon, who is a psychologist, at his place of work in St John of God's hospital in Stillorgan at 9. 30 a.m. on that day. However, Mr Lydon rejected this and said he never scheduled meetings on Monday mornings because he was busy with clinical visits.
He said he had met the head of the psychology department and a number of other personnel that morning to review the weekend notes. This was followed by his ward rounds and then a funeral.
Mr Lydon had also rejected Mr Dunlop's claim that he met him at 3.30 p.m. the previous Friday. Mr Dunlop said the senator had requested £5,000 in return for signing and supporting the rezoning motion, but settled for £3,000.
The lobbyist said he met the senator in the hospital but Mr Lydon said he was addressing a conference of 200 corporate bankers and treasurers in Dún Laoghaire on that day.
When Ms McAuliffe heard Mr Dunlop's allegations, she contacted Mr Lydon to say she recalled him at her father's funeral. He later phoned her back to ask if she had the book of condolences from the funeral. She could not find it and the tribunal heard yesterday that it had never been found.
Also yesterday, a retired bank manager told the tribunal he was led to understand that Mr Dunlop would be getting £250,000 for his work to have land rezoned at Carrickmines.
Mr John Aherne was deputy manager with the AIB branch in College Street, Dublin, when he dealt with Mr Dunlop in 1996. At a meeting with Mr Dunlop in October of that year, he was told his client had been engaged by Miley and Miley solicitors to lobby to have the lands rezoned for industrial usage so that a business park could be developed.
While former Fianna Fáil TD Mr Liam Lawlor was listed to continue giving evidence yesterday, counsel for the tribunal said there were no further questions for Mr Lawlor at that time.
The tribunal adjourned for one week and will resume its public hearings on October 7th. Mr Lawlor has been invited to make a submission to the tribunal on that day, outlining why he should not be asked to pay the costs of the "compliance" module. This followed a ruling by the tribunal chairman, Judge Alan Mahon, that Mr Lawlor had been unco-operative and obstructive with the tribunal and had made a serious attempt to hinder it in its work.