Irish politicians, Judges and civil servants are said to be paedophiles by abuse victims, who gave witness to the Lafoy Commission!

 

Was Macarthur about to reveal child sex ring?

Gardai believe killer had 'sensational' information

MALCOLM Macarthur, prior to his trial for the murder of young nurse Bridie Gargan,

may have been about to make sensational claims that an organised paedophile ring existed within the institutions of the State.

Ultimately when he pleaded guilty to that murder, a plea bargain with the State ensured that further charges for the murder of farmer Donal Dunne were never brought.

A senior garda involved in the investigation into Macarthur's murders has told the Sunday Independent that he believes Macarthur had sensational information which would have rocked the foundations of the State.

This information, he said, related to the alleged paedophile activities of politicians, members of the legal profession and civil servants.

Other senior Garda officers have corroborated the investigating garda's suspicions, although they all believe Macarthur was not himself a paedophile.

Macarthur recently broke his 20-year silence to reject any suggestion that he was a member of a paedophile ring. But a paedophile ring is said by Garda sources to have operated in Dublin 20 years ago and is alleged to have involved a small number of, at the time, influential men.

Today's revelation will add credibility to claims made in the Dail last April by Fine Gael TD Phil Hogan. Deputy Hogan's claims were based on allegations made to the Laffoy Commission, which is investigating allegations of child abuse in State institutions.

Yesterday Deputy Hogan told the Sunday Independent that before Macarthur is released, the Department of Justice should be ordered by the Taoiseach to "fully investigate" the allegations which have been made to the Laffoy Commission.

It is alleged that Macarthur was with a Department of Education official when that official approached a young male prostitute in Dublin's city centre.

Deputy Hogan said that the male prostitute had told the Laffoy Commission that he had recognised his client as a Department of Education official from a time years earlier when he was a resident of an Industrial School.

The Department official, now retired, had been responsible for investigating allegations of child abuse.

The full facts surrounding the murders of Bridie Gargan and Donal Dunne were never revealed in open court.

Macarthur pleaded guilty and was convicted of the murder of Ms Gargan after the State accepted that plea.

The State entered a nolle prosequi on the charge of murdering Offaly farmer Donal Dunne, a decision that angered the murdered man's family.

In response to Deputy Hogan's allegations, the former Education Minister, Michael Woods said the Department had received no communication from the Laffoy Commission about any such case but it would give every co-operation and support if that happened.

Macarthur has totally rejected the allegations. A statement issued at the time through his solicitors, MacGuill and Company, said: "... extensive reference was made both in Dail Eireann and in the national media to a complaint apparently made to the Laffoy Commission which is inquiring into child abuse that Mr Malcolm Macarthur was a participant in sexual acts involving a survivor of child abuse, referred to in reports as a 'rent boy', and another party, stated to be a civil servant.

"No such allegation has been communicated to Mr Macarthur either by his accuser or any other party. Mr Macarthur refutes the allegation in its entirety."

Macarthur wrote to the Laffoy Commission requesting full details of the claim and his legal team said he was prepared to co-operate fully with the commission's investigation, including furnishing a statement in reply and giving evidence if requested.

The statement concluded: "He requests the media, if covering the issue, not to report as 'fact' these unproven allegations, even where made under parliamentary privilege, and to give equal prominence to his categorical denial of their truth."

The Sunday Independent has also learned that gardai harbour suspicions that Macarthur may have killed his violent father Daniel in order to come into a substantial inheritance in 1974.

It is known that Malcolm Macarthur had deep feelings about his parents. He was regularly beaten by his father who virtually abandoned him as a child.

Macarthur's father died in his bed while his son was on a rare visit home to the large family farm in Co Meath.

No post-mortem was carried out and Macarthur received #70,000 from the estate. When this money ran out, he began his killing spree in a bizarre plot to fund his lifestyle through armed robbery.

Among Macarthur's belongings after his arrest in August 1982, detectives discovered notes showing he was planning to kill his mother, Irene, and make the murder look like an accidental electrocution.

He wrote: "Electric fire with faulty plug attached. Adaptor left in walls perhaps fused adaptor plug pulled out.

None of my fingerprints. Take away one of her fuses if it appears there are too many with and body of fire."

At the time of Macarthur's arrest, detectives had clear suspicions about the plot to kill his mother and were also concerned that he might have intended to kill his friend, Attorney General Paddy Connolly, in whose apartment he was arrested in August 1982.

Mr Connolly had unwittingly become embroiled in the sensational events when he allowed Macarthur the use of his apartment.

Macarthur was questioned about the murder in 1982 of the RTE set designer, Charles Self, 37, who was beaten and stabbed in his Monkstown mews home not far from the Dalkey apartment of Mr Connolly.

Gardai were suspicious because Macarthur appeared to have frequented pubs and clubs where Self, a homosexual, also socialised. Self's murderer has never been traced. However, detectives believe that he may have been killed by a violent young man he met in Dublin city centre.

Macarthur was eventually removed from the suspect list in the Self case.

 

The Independent - 1/9/02 - JIMMY GUERIN, JIM CUSACK and JEROME REILLY