Mr James Gogarty told the tribunal that he had never disparaged gardai deliberately and said he apologised if he had gone over the top in ascribing improper motives.
Mr Gogarty's denial came after heated arguments between counsel. Lawyers for JMSE and the Garda Siochana had called for allegations which they said Mr Gogarty had made about bribery and corruption, which were found to be baseless, to be brought in detail before the tribunal.
Counsel for Mr Gogarty said he had never accused gardai of corruption.
The arguments started after Mr John Gallagher SC, for the tribunal, had questioned Mr Gogarty about alleged threatening phone calls from Mr Joe Murphy jnr. He said that after the calls Det Sgt Bernard Sherry interviewed Mr Gogarty at home. Subsequently it was decided that charges would not be brought against Mr Murphy.
Mr Gallagher asked if gardai had told him why they would not issue proceedings (against Mr Murphy).
"They didn't give me a satisfactory reason for it, and that's why I was so annoyed," he said. He disagreed with the findings that he (Mr Murphy) should not be charged.
Mr Gallagher asked if he directed his solicitor to write to Mr Murphy on behalf of him and his wife, Ms Anna Gogarty. The letter dated November 21st, 1994, informed Mr Murphy that his clients intended to issue civil proceedings against him in the High Court seeking damages for assault and the infliction of physical and emotional suffering.
He instructed his solicitor to engage a summons service and to serve proceedings on Mr Murphy.
They got a summons server in Dublin, and he reported back in a short period. The server made inquiries in Santry and talked to people, and as a result of the discussions he felt he would like to withdraw from the summons process, Mr Gogarty said.
After he pulled out, his solicitor organised a firm in London, and the summons server made five attempts to serve and failed.
Mr Garrett Cooney SC, for JMSE, said perhaps there were a number of matters Mr Gallagher should go into: (a) the allegations made by Mr Gogarty against Det Sgt Sherry which were found to be baseless, and (b) the similar allegations which he made against the summons server, and also the personal reaction to these allegations of Mr Hegarty, his solicitor. He did not think these matters should be left out.
The chairman, Mr Justice Flood, said it was an unusual application.
Mr Frank Callanan SC, for Mr Gogarty, said it was an outrageous intervention.
Mr Cooney said it was an inquiry and it should bring out all the facts. It seemed to him the facts relating to the incident were well known to the tribunal counsel and Mr Gogarty had not been asked about it. It was not outrageous that they should bring out these facts.
"I cannot understand, Mr Chairman, why in an inquiry which is here to establish all facts some facts are brought out for Mr Gogarty in direct evidence but others are not. For instance, the fact that Mr Gogarty falsely accused Det Sgt Sherry of being bribed and corrupt, secondly that he left his own solicitor, Mr Hegarty."
"I didn't," Mr Gogarty said.
Mr Cooney said this information was in documents furnished by the tribunal. This was in information contained in the documents, including a Garda file, furnished to him by the tribunal.
"I have been furnished with documents which were attendances by Mr Hegarty on this client, of which he records Mr Hegarty's, his dissatisfaction with him, and Mr Gogarty's, his dissatisfaction with him. This man accused the summons server of having been bought," said Mr Cooney.
The chairman said Mr Cooney had been fully informed of all the documentation and he would be the first person to cross-examine Mr Gogarty.
He said tribunal counsel did not have to go through every word but was entitled to flag certain aspects.
Ms Nuala Butler, counsel for the Garda Siochana, said it was inappropriate that Mr Gogarty, who had made allegations against gardai which were not accepted as not being correct, should not have to be dealt with at that point.
Mr Callanan said Mr Gogarty did not accuse gardai of corruption.
Mr Cooney then referred to Mr Gogarty's affidavit. He read out a passage which said: "Regrettably, as I could see no legal or rational reason for that decision of the gardai, I eventually came to the belief, rightly or wrongly, that improper influence must have come to bear on the gardai for such a decision to have been made."
Mr Cooney said Mr Gogarty made this statement under oath four or five weeks ago. Statements of evidence made by other detectives noted Mr Gogarty as saying that Det Sgt Sherry had been bribed and was corrupt.
Mr Callanan said there was no assertion of corruption made in the passage in the affidavit. It referred to Mr Gogarty's view that he formed rightly or wrongly. It was not an allegation that he had come before the tribunal to canvass.
Ms Butler said the allegations had been made against her client and Mr Gogarty had made these in other places.
The chairman said the debate was closed. Mr Gallagher said all the evidence would be dealt with. If it had not been put at this stage, it would be put.
Mr Gogarty in being asked about contacting Mr Tommy Broughan TD, said: "I never any time to my knowledge wittingly disparaged the guards. I was a garda myself for seven years and I went through it, and never did I disparage the guards deliberately.
"I was within six feet of being shot dead and a comrade of mine was shot dead, George Mordaunt. We were trying to arrest an escaped IRA convict up in Donnycarney. My comrade, George Mordaunt, was shot dead. Even if I try to erase that from my memory, every time I read the paper and see where there is a guard injured or killed it brings me back to what I went through and thank God I wasn't in the same boat."
In a statement six weeks ago Det Sgt Sherry gave five or six reasons why he arrived at the judgment. "I accept that unreservedly though I disagree with his findings," Mr Gogarty said.
"I was going through trauma for years, and that blackguard out there could have been brought within the jurisdiction," he said.
Ms Butler said the evidence was rambling, irrelevant and prejudiced. Mr Gogarty said it was not irrelevant to what he was going through.
"And if I went over the top in ascribing improper motives to Mr Sherry I would apologise for that, but it was through frustration and a long period of trauma," he said.
"Murphy told me unequivocally that I'd get nowhere with gardai," he said. That was way back in the Berkeley Court hotel in 1992.