A witness in a murder trial told a jury in the Central Criminal Court yesterday that she lied to gardai because she was frightened of what the accused might do from behind bars.
In cross-examination, Ms Adrienne McGuinness told the court that she had agreed to be an alibi to the accused, because she felt she had no choice. "I was more afraid of him than the police," she said. "I knew he wasn't innocent. I still feared him even though he was behind bars. I don't know what contacts he has outside, if he could send anyone after me or not."
Mr Joseph Delaney (54), formerly of La Rochelle, Naas, Co Kildare, has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Mark Dwyer (23) on or about December 14th, 1996. He has also pleaded not guilty to falsely imprisoning Mr Dwyer and detaining him against his will at Foster Terrace, Ballybough, Dublin, on December 14th, 1996.
The prosecution alleges that Mr Delaney murdered Mr Dwyer over the theft of 30,000-40,000 ecstasy tablets.
Mr Dwyer was found with a bullet wound in the head in a field in Dublin in the early hours of Saturday, December 14th, 1996, as well as having injuries to his forearms and upper torso.
Ms McGuinness said she had lied to gardai in statements she made shortly after her arrest in December 1996. "It took a long time for the truth to come out but I told it in the end," she said. "I had it bottled up for so long, it was hard to say it. I was more afraid of Joe Delaney than the police, put it that way."
In earlier statements to gardai, Ms McGuinness had said she had been having an affair with Mr Delaney and had slept with him on the night Mr Dwyer was abducted and later shot.
Ms McGuinness said that those comments were untrue, saying: "I can make that clear. I am not his lover, never was and never will be."
Describing her testimony as "a fabrication", defence counsel, Mr Blaise O'Carroll SC, said to her that she had "gone to the ultimate lengths and sworn false testimony against Joe Delaney".
"Joe Delaney is guilty," Ms McGuinness replied. Mr O'Carroll put it to Ms McGuinness that she was "an actress playing a very deadly game" and that she was "prepared to go to the ultimate limits playing the game and it didn't work out the way you anticipated".
"If I was an actress I'd be in Hollywood," Ms McGuinness replied.
Mr O'Carroll said Ms McGuinness's "talk of fear is a complete joke".
Ms McGuinness said she had booked into a hotel with Mr Delaney shortly after Mr Dwyer was murdered, because she had faced death threats from a man purporting to come from the INLA over alleged drug-pushing. She said she had been given seven days to leave the country.
Prosecution counsel had previously said that the State Pathologist would give evidence to say that Mr Dwyer died from a laceration of the brain due to a single gun shot wound to the back of the head, fired at "virtual contact range".
The case before Mr Justice Quirke and a jury continues today.