Garda killer Aaron Brady accepts that his attempt to pervert the course of justice during his trial was wrong, but he maintains that witnesses gave untrue evidence against him, his barrister has told the Special Criminal Court.
Michael O'Higgins SC, for Brady, on Tuesday said his client had made an error in judgment against a "fraught background" involving covid lockdowns and a belief that people who said they heard Brady admit to killing a garda were under pressure and saying things that were untrue.
Mr O'Higgins said the fraught background was not a justification for what Brady did, but provides a "context and a rational narrative as to why and how it occurred".
In August 2020, Brady (33) formerly of New Road, Crossmaglen, Co Armagh was convicted by a jury of the murder of Det Gda Adrian Donohoe during a credit union robbery at Lordship, Bellurgan, Co Louth on January 25th 2013.
The jury found that Brady was the man who shot Det Gda Donohoe in the head from close range.
Earlier this year, Brady pleaded guilty to a charge that on a date between February 20th and May 7th 2020, within the State, he video recorded the playing of an interview between Ronan Flynn, a witness at his trial, and An Garda Siochana, thus embarking on a course of conduct intended to pervert the course of justice.
Mr Flynn, who did not give evidence at Brady's trial, spoke to gardaí in October 2017 while he was living in New York. He had shared an apartment with Brady and said that he often heard the defendant admit to shooting Det Gda Donohoe.
Mr Flynn said that when Brady was drunk he would listen to the Wolfe Tones and get "angry and frustrated with himself" and say things like: "Sure f**k it, I shot a guard".
The video of Mr Flynn's garda interview was uploaded to WhatsApp, Youtube and Facebook with text accusing Mr Flynn of "touting" and claiming he had charges against him in the US dropped in return for his statement.
Brady also sent photographs of part of the statement of Daniel Cahill to Dean Byrne, a violent criminal who was housed on the same wing of Mountjoy Prison as Brady.
Byrne sent the statements to at least two people in an attempt to get Mr Cahill's family members to persuade him not to give evidence.
Mr Cahill did give evidence at Brady's trial, telling the jury that Brady admitted to shooting a garda on three occasions while Brady was living in New York, having fled from Ireland in the aftermath of the murder.
At a sentencing hearing on Tuesday, Michael O'Higgins SC, for Brady, told the three-judge court that his client accepts that he did things that were wrong and apologises for his actions.
Mr O'Higgins said Brady accepts that the book of evidence was given to him on a trust basis and that trust was breached.
"The decision to do it was based on a very serious error of judgment on Aaron Brady's part," Mr O'Higgins said.
Homeland Security
Counsel said his client's position at the time and to this day is that he did not make any admissions to Mr Flynn or Mr Cahill.
Mr O'Higgins said there were issues during the trial as all but one of the people who made statements alleging Brady had made admissions were illegally in the USA and had been arrested by Homeland Security.
Mr O'Higgins said a senior person in Homeland Security had issued a direction that anyone who cooperated with the garda investigation into Det Gda Donohoe's murder would get "entry status" while anyone else would be sent home.
There were also, Mr O'Higgins said, complaints about garda interviewing methods.
Mr O'Higgins said it was a "fraught time" with the covid lockdowns in Mountjoy compounding the issues for his client.
"I don't advance that as a justification for anything that was done, but I advance it by way of context and a rational narrative as to why and how it occurred... I would like the court to be aware that Mr Brady was of the view that these witnesses were under pressure and saying things that were untrue."
Mr O'Higgins asked the court to be as lenient as possible in the circumstances and to give Brady the maximum benefit for his guilty plea.
Brady is already serving a life sentence with a minimum time served of 40 years for murdering Det Gda Donohoe.
While the sentence for perverting the course of justice cannot be consecutive to that life sentence, Diarmuid Collins BL for the DPP said it should run consecutively to Brady's 14-year sentence for the robbery during which Brady shot and killed Det Gda Donohoe.
Dean Byrne (31) from Cabra Park, Phibsborough, Dublin has 127 previous convictions.
He was due to be released later this year from a 14-year sentence for aggravated burglary and a further sentence for aiding and abetting a violent disorder while in prison.
He was found guilty by the non-jury Special Criminal Court earlier this year of conspiring with Aaron Brady in Mountjoy Prison between April 8th 2020 and June 22nd 2020 to persuade prosecution witness Daniel Cahill not to give evidence at Brady's murder trial, a course of conduct which had a tendency to and which was intended to pervert the course of justice.
His lawyer Padraig Dwyer SC asked the court not to impose a consecutive sentence for the conspiracy conviction. Mr Dwyer said his client's involvement went no further than a conspiracy to persuade a witness not to give evidence with no suggestion of violence.
Mr Justice Paul Burns said the court will deliver sentences for Brady and Byrne on July 29th.
