A former employee of Jim Mansfield Jnr, who claims the businessman set him up to be falsely imprisoned by a gang, has denied a defence suggestion that he cannot keep his "story straight for more than three minutes" and that he put people in and out of meetings "willy nilly".
The State's witness Martin Byrne (53), who is now in the Witness Protection Programme, was being cross-examined for a second day at the non-jury trial of Mr Mansfield Jnr.
Mr Byrne told the three-judge court in his direct evidence last week that his former employer Mr Mansfield Jnr (53) arranged meetings with the New IRA and the INLA to "assist" in getting back parts of his family's former property portfolio.
The witness told the court that Mr Mansfield Jnr was "a couple of feet away" when he was taken prisoner by a gang of seven men, which included former INLA man Dessie O'Hare and former Republican paramilitary Declan "Whacker" Duffy. Mr Byrne testified that he believed Mr Mansfield Jnr had set him up.
The field
Defence counsel Bernard Condon SC, for Mr Mansfield Jnr, put it to Mr Byrne today that he had said in his direct evidence that a meeting took place in Dundalk between his client and a third party to get "Paddy Reilly's field" back for €2 million, but there was no reference to Dundalk in the 16 statements which he had made to the Garda Criminal Assets Bureau (Cab).
Mr Byrne has testified that key assets belonging to the Mansfields, including a piece of land known as "Paddy Reilly's Field" went into receivership and a third party, who was an "old friend" of Jim Mansfield Snr, was brought in to act on behalf of the family and retain the properties on their behalf.
Mr Condon asked the witness why had he not told the Cab officers about his meetings in Dundalk. In reply, Mr Byrne said he could not recall.
Mr Condon put it to Mr Byrne that he had never mentioned a meeting in Dundalk to gardaí and suggested he was making it up as he went along and could not keep his "story straight for more than three minutes". Mr Byrne denied this and said there were "multiple meetings" which he had not spoken to Cab nor the gardaí about as he had not been asked.
Counsel for Mr Mansfield Jnr further put it to Mr Byrne that he was given "every opportunity in the world" to disclose information about these important meetings as he was interviewed between 14 and 16 times by Cab, four times by gardaí and had his examination-in-chief at the trial last Friday. Mr Byrne said the interviews he conducted with CAB concerned his dealings with Mr Mansfield Jnr between 2010 and 2015.
At one point Mr Condon called Mr Byrne's answers to his questions "pretty slippery" to which Mr Byrne replied: "It was a pretty slippery time".
IRA meetings
Mr Byrne said he wanted to speak to someone at the time and Detective Sergeant Tony Hearty, whom he knew from his security work and trusted, had introduced him to the bureau. Det Sgt Hearty had also been present at the raid on the accused's hotel in 2015, he added.
In January 2015, a hotel run by Mr Mansfield Jnr was searched as part of an investigation into a criminal gang. Officers searched Finnstown House Hotel in Lucan - which was managed by Mr Mansfield at the time - and apartments in the Citywest complex.
Mr Condon told Mr Byrne that he had testified in his direct evidence that two members of the New IRA were present at two meetings which he had attended.
"I think I'm confused with the two meetings, there was only one meeting which had two members of the IRA there," Mr Byrne said, adding that he was confused at what was discussed at which meeting. Mr Byrne said later that he was at multiple meetings with the IRA.
The barrister put it to the witness that he just put people in and out of events when it suited him, telling him: "People pop in and out of meetings and events willy nilly. This is worthless". Mr Byrne denied this.
Mr Mansfield Jnr (53), of Tasaggart House, Garters Lane, Saggart, Co Dublin, is accused of conspiring with one or more persons to falsely imprison Martin Byrne on a date unknown between January 1, 2015 and June 30, 2015, both dates inclusive.
He is also charged with attempting to pervert the course of justice by directing Patrick Byrne to destroy recorded CCTV footage, with the alleged intention of perverting the course of public justice in relation to the false imprisonment of Martin Byrne at Finnstown House Hotel, Newcastle Road, Lucan, Co Dublin between June 9th, 2015 and June 12th, 2015.
The accused has pleaded not guilty to both offences.
The trial continues tomorrow before Mr Justice Alexander Owens presiding, sitting with Judge Sinead Ni Chulachain and Judge James Faughnan.
