Free Haughey's Forty Years of Controversy by T. Ryle Dwyer Page A

statement denying having ‘taken part in any illegal importation or attempted importation of arms into this country’. He repeated this on 25 May in a further statement in which he endorsed the Taoiseach’s view that ‘not even the slightest suspicion should attach to any member of the government’.
    â€˜I have fully accepted the Taoiseach’s decision, as I believe that the unity of the Fianna Fáil party is of greater importance to the welfare of the nation than my political career,’ Charlie emphasised. He was facing possible criminal charges and this was a desperate appeal to Fianna Fáil’s traditional solidarity. But the appeal was in vain. Three days later he was arrested and taken from home in a police car like a common criminal.

A RMS T RIALS
    Although the media was slow to question Lynch’s motives in dismissing Charlie and Blaney from the cabinet, there could be little doubt that political considerations played a major part in determining the timing of their arrest. As both still enjoyed support within the parliamentary party, there was a danger their supporters might react emotionally and bring down the government in a fit of pique.
    The arrests were therefore delayed until Thursday, 28 May 1970. The Dáil broke up early that day for the bank holiday weekend and would not reconvene until the following Wednesday. This afforded deputies an opportunity to get over their initial shock and they had time to ponder the consequences of bringing down the government.
    The charge of conspiring to import arms illegally was subsequently dropped against Blaney, but Charlie was returned for trial, along with three others – Capt. James Kelly, John Kelly, a Belfast Republican and a Belgian businessman, Albert Luykx.
    The trial began on 22 September 1970. In his opening statement the chief prosecutor appeared to sensationalise the forthcoming testimony for the benefit of the media by quoting what Peter Berry would have to say about his telephone call from Charlie on 18 April. It was obvious, one observer concluded, that the prosecution’s tactics were to ‘Gut Haughey and gut him fast’.
    The defendants stood indicted of having ‘conspired together and with other persons unknown to import arms and ammunition illegally into the state’ between 1 March and 24 April 1970. To prove the case against Charlie the state was depending on the testimony of three prosecution witnesses, Jim Gibbons, Peter Berry and Anthony Fagan.
    Fagan was the first to testify. He told the court that Capt. Kelly came to see Charlie on 19 March. As the minister was engaged, the captain told Fagan that the unspecified cargo, about which he had told Charlie the previous month, would be arriving on the City of Dublin on 25 March. He asked if customs could be instructed to admit the consignment without inspecting it. Assured that he had the authority to do so, Charlie gave the necessary instructions.
    Berry told the court of his telephone conversation with Charlie on 18 April. He read a verbatim account of the conversation from notes he made in his diary at the time.
    Taking the witness stand on the third day of the trial Jim Gibbons testified that he had been uneasy about what Capt. Kelly was doing and so asked Charlie to find another job for him in March 1970. ‘We’ll make a pig smuggling prevention officer of him,’ Charlie suggested.
    Gibbons went on to testify that Charlie told him in early April that he was not aware of any conspiracy to import guns. They both agreed at this meeting that collective government action was the only way ‘in matters of this kind’.
    Later in the month they had a further conversation, according to Gibbons, who was not sure whether the conversation took place on 17 or 20 April.
    In his statement in the Book of Evidence Gibbons described their discussion as a telephone conversation, but he corrected this on the witness stand. He had telephoned