Morris Tribunal: Former detective denies hitting woman with pen
A former detective garda is denying that he struck a mother-of-three on the finger with a pen, the Morris Tribunal heard today.
Sean Herraghty was one of several gardaí who took part in the 12-hour interrogation of Katrina Brolly in Letterkenny garda station in December 1996.
Solicitor Tom Murphy told Mrs Brolly that his client had no recollection of any confrontation during the interview.
“You were quite mannerly throughout and that there was no difficulty. You were answering questions as you were asked and there was no argy-bargy,” he said.
But Mrs Brolly insisted that the incident with the pen did happen.
“He (Herraghty) hit me in the finger with it. It seems to be bothering you more than it was bothering me,” he said.
The 46-year-old Donegal woman was being questioned about the activities of her brother-in-law Mark McConnell, whom gardaí wrongly suspected of being involved in the death of cattle dealer Richie Barron in Raphoe.
Mr Murphy said Detective Garda Herraghty, who is now retired, viewed the ‘pen allegation’ as a serious one and thought that Judge Frederick Morris might take the same view.
He asked Mrs Brolly why she had not included the alleged incident in her statement to the Garda Complaints Board and had only disclosed it in cross-examination yesterday.
“Well as I said, after all the abuse I went through, I mustn’t have thought it was important enough,” said Mrs Brolly.
She said Detective Garda Herraghty had threatened during the interview that he would go to Raphoe to uncover "skeletons in the closet" about her.
