Witness says Flynn asked for donation to 'the boys'

MAHON TRIBUNAL: Former minister Mr Pádraig Flynn asked an English property company for a donation for "the boys" less than six months after he got £50,000 from the company's Irish partner, Mr Tom Gilmartin, the tribunal has heard.

Mr Flynn made the request at a Fianna Fáil fundraiser in London after he and Mr Bertie Ahern had lunch with Mr Ted Dadley, a senior executive in Arlington Securities, according to a statement furnished to the tribunal by Mr Dadley.

The fundraiser took place in the Reform Club in London in November 1989. Mr Gilmartin says he gave Mr Flynn a £50,000 cheque, intended for Fianna Fáil, in June that year.

Mr Dadley said he told Mr Flynn it wasn't possible for Arlington to make a donation. Two days later, a front-page article in The Irish Times revealed the company's involvement in a project with Mr Gilmartin to develop a £100 million shopping centre at Bachelor's Walk in Dublin.

The revelation that a large English firm was involved in buying up properties at Bachelor's Walk pushed up the acquisition cost of the project and was one of the reasons for its ultimate failure.

Mr Dadley's claim is contained in a statement, which was submitted to the tribunal just three days ago. He is scheduled to give evidence today.

According to the statement, Arlington carefully assembled the properties on the site using front companies to avoid publicity that might drive up the acquisition prices. However, the English company's involvement was revealed in a front-page article in The Irish Times.

Mr Dadley gave three reasons for the collapse of the Bachelor's Walk project: the collapse of the property market in the late 1980s; the failure to agree with CIÉ on the provision of a bus station on the site; and the fact that Arlington's involvement in the project became public.

Mr Dadley said he attended a Fianna Fáil fundraiser in London, where he had lunch with Mr Flynn and Mr Bertie Ahern. After lunch, Mr Flynn asked if Arlington would make a donation to "the boys".

Mr Dadley told Mr Flynn this wasn't possible, but within 48 hours, The Irish Times article appeared and "the inevitable happened".

Another Arlington executive, Mr Raymond Mould, has told the tribunal in a statement that Mr Lawlor "appeared" once at the company's office in London but never attended a board meeting.

According to Mr Mould, the payments to Mr Lawlor were for "services rendered" and were not in any way political donations.