O'Brien tells of meeting Desmond and Lowry after All-Ireland final

Moriarty Tribunal: Mr Denis O'Brien said the suggestion that former Minister Mr Michael Lowry told him to get Mr Dermot Desmond involved in Esat Digifone was "nonsense".

Mr O'Brien was being questioned about events on September 17th, 1995, when he attended the All-Ireland final, and met both Mr Lowry and Mr Desmond.

At the time bids submitted on August 4th, 1995, for the State's second mobile phone licence were being assessed by a team working within Mr Lowry's Department.

Mr O'Brien, who attended the final with Mr Padraig Ó hUiginn, met Mr Lowry at half-time in the hospitality room at Croke Park, and asked him if he was going for a drink later. Mr Lowry said he would be in Houricans pub on Leeson Street.

Mr O'Brien said that after the match he went to a pre-arranged meeting with Mr Desmond at 6 p.m. He said that at the time Mr Desmond was mostly out of the country apart from weekends. He thought the two men met in Mr Desmond's office.

The two men discussed Mr Desmond becoming involved in Esat Digifone. Mr O'Brien told the tribunal that negotiations had been under way since the two first discussed the issue on the way back from a Glasgow Celtic match on August 10th, 1995.

He said the negotiations "speeded" up following an oral presentation made to the bid assessment team by Digifone on September 12th.

Mr O'Brien said at the presentation he formed the impression that the financial weakness of his company, Communicorp, was seen as a problem by the assessors. Also his Digifone partners, Telenor, had concerns about the matter. After meeting with Mr Desmond, Mr O'Brien went to Houricans pub to meet Mr Lowry, at about 6.30 p.m. or 6.45 p.m. Mr O'Brien was on his own. Mr Lowry was with the late Mr Sean Murray and others. Mr O'Brien noted Mr Murray's presence as he was involved with a rival bidder for the licence.

As the pub was "jammers" Mr Lowry and Mr O'Brien went across the road to Hartigan's pub. They discussed the match, and Mr O'Brien's difficulties in competing with Telecom Éireann in the fixed line business. Mr O'Brien said they did not discuss the licence competition as he considered the topic taboo.

Mr John Coughlan SC, for the tribunal, said Mr Per Simonsen, of Telenor, had given a statement of intended evidence to the tribunal wherein he said that during the last two weeks of September 1995, Mr O'Brien had told him that he had "happened to meet" with Mr Lowry in a pub.

Mr Simonsen said Mr O'Brien told him that Mr Lowry had said that Mr Desmond's IIU Ltd should be involved in the consortium. Mr O'Brien said the statement was "nonsense".

Mr Coughlan said when the statement was given to the tribunal, Telenor's lawyers had not been told about the meeting in Hartigan's. Mr O'Brien said the conversation never happened.

He said he had had dealings with six government Ministers, and it was never once suggested to him that he "bring someone in" or do a favour for someone.

Mr Coughlan said Mr Simonsen was not saying that it had happened, but that Mr O'Brien had said it had happened.

The tribunal heard that Mr Simonsen sat in at the end of a Digifone meeting on September 22nd. It may have been that Mr Simonsen heard something at this meeting and had become confused, Mr O'Brien said. It was possible Mr O'Brien may have mentioned the pub meeting to Mr Arve Johanson, of Telenor, while discussing how Mr O'Brien's fixed line business was faring.

Mr Coughlan said Mr Lowry has told the tribunal that no such conversation as outlined by Mr Simonsen had ever taken place. Mr Desmond, who was at the All-Ireland on September 17th, has said he had no recall of meeting Mr O'Brien on that date. In a statement of intended evidence he also said he had no knowledge of a meeting between Mr O'Brien and Mr Lowry on that date.

Mr Leslie Buckley, a partner of Mr O'Brien's in the Esat group, has told the tribunal in a statement of intended evidence that on his way by car to a meeting with solicitor Mr Owen O'Connell on September 18th, 1995, Mr O'Brien told him that Mr Desmond was "going ahead with the financing transaction".

A note of the meeting by Mr O'Connell recorded Mr O'Brien telling him that Mr Desmond "is going ahead with the financing transaction".However Mr O'Brien said the deal with Mr Desmond was not finalised at the meeting on Sunday, September 17th. Mr O'Brien resumes his evidence today.'