THE solicitor for Raphoe man Mark McConnell told the Morris Tribunal this week how his client complained about his treatment while in garda custody 10 years ago.

James O'Donnell said he met Mark McConnell twice on 4 December 1996 while he was detained at Letterkenny Garda Station on suspicion of the murder of Mr Richie Barron.

Mr O'Donnell said his client told him he was being harassed and that he had been physically abused.

"He didn't know the name of the garda so I took it from that he wasn't a local garda. There was certainly frustration from my client on the fact that nobody knew who the garda was, who was the main instigator of the abuse, his identity.

"There seemed to be some sort of secrecy shrouding the identity of the garda," Mr O'Donnell said.

Mr O'Donnell said that on his visit to Letterkenny Garda Station he was refused copies of interview notes and the custody record. He described the custody officer on the day - former Garda Martin Leonard - as unco-operative and "obdurate".

Mr Justice Frederick Morris was told that Mr O'Donnell had never been given a copy of the complaints he made to Garda Leonard during Mr McConnell's detention. These included that his client had been assaulted, that a garda refused to give his name and that a request for Mr McConnell to see a doctor was refused.

Mr O'Donnell said he got the impression that a decision had been made to by the gardai to block his access to his client.

In a statement in 1998 the custody officer said he took note of Mr O'Donnell's complaints and gave him a copy of the note. He wrote in the custody record that the solicitor had "made allegations".

The solicitor said he had no recollection of being handed the note.

NOTES MISPLACED

Detective Garda Michael O'Malley told the tribunal that notes were taken of the interviews with Mark McConnell by Det James Leheny but added that these were misplaced after they went to the incident room.

"They couldn't be located and that was it. They shouldn't have been misplaced," Det O'Malley said.

He denied that he or Det Leheny behaved aggressively towards Mark McConnell.