Lawyers for the Flood Tribunal claim that they have uncovered evidence to suggest that payments to Ray Burke by the builders Brennan and McGowan were not political donations. It has been revealed that £60,000 that he received in 1984 was part of a mortgage on lands which were later rezoned for development.
Builder Joe McGowan told the Tribunal last year that he was a fundraiser for Ray Burke for many years. He said that the money came from dinners and events at race meetings. However, it now appears that one of the largest donations, £60,000 lodged to a Jersey bank account in 1984, was borrowed money. A Brennan and McGowan company in the Channel Islands, Camio, mortgaged land in Sandyford County Dublin and lodged part of the money to a Jersey bank account for Ray Burke. The land was later developed for housing by Brennan and McGowan after being rezoned.
Ray Burke said that he had nothing to do with any rezoning and he did not know what they were trying to suggest. He said that he was surprised to hear where the money had come from, he always believed it was the proceeds of fundraising.
It has also been discovered that Camio was behind a payment of £15,000 the following year. Mr Burke had originally told the Tribunal that he had taken it out of a Jersey bank account and then re-lodged. He then admitted his mistake in a personal letter to the chairman of the Flood Tribunal and today he retracted his earlier evidence. Tribunal lawyers accused him of inventing the first story and retracting it when he was caught. Pat Hanratty SC for the Tribunal asked how he could sit there with a straight face and say his first complicated and detailed story was a failure of recollection. Mr Burke said that was the picture in his head at the time but the documents had proved that he was wrong. "My mind has played games on me, I'm human, I'm sorry", he said.
