Murder of Sophie Tuscan Du Plantier by Vincent McKenna
Introduction and Key Events
On the 23 December, 1996, when
39-year-old French woman, Sophie Tuscan Du Plantier was murdered in west Cork,
the murder made national and international headlines. However, I had no particular
interest in Sophie’s murder, as murders in Ireland were common in the 1990s,
and I was working tirelessly in Belfast on the peace process.
The names Sophie Tuscan Du
Plantier and Ian Bailey would have no real meaning for me until many years
after Sophie’s brutal murder. That meaning and interest was sparked when a
fellow prisoner in Wheatfield Prison, Patrick O’Riordan, disclosed to me in casual
circumstances, that Ian Bailey had admitted murdering Sophie, while staying in
London with Patrick.
Confirmation of what I was told in Prison
In 2007, I was preparing to go
to Cork City for the funeral of a good friend, Richard ‘Richie’ Walsh. Richie
had been a fireman in Cork for over 30-years and we had met through another
close friend. I decided that while in Cork City I would make contact with Ian
Bailey, I would tell Ian that I had empathy with him in regards to the way he
had been so badly treated by the Gardai and the Media.
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I had contacted Solicitor Con
Murphy who had been Ian Bailey's Solicitor, not realising that Con Murphy was already a Circuit Court Judge,
however, Con Murphy was able to give me Bailey’s mobile phone number. I phoned
Ian Bailey and told him that I had certain information that might be helpful to
him, and I asked him to meet me in the hotel in Cork in which I would be
staying.
When Ian Bailey arrived at my
hotel, we sat in a quiet corner of the bar. Ian Bailey was nervous; he was
constantly looking around him as if waiting on the Gardai or media to pounce.
Ian eventually settled down, I explained to Ian exactly who I was and the
reason I was in prison, I showed him media reports about my case before, during
and after I was charged. Ian began to see similarities in how we had both been
treated.
I told Ian that a fellow
prisoner had a great deal to say about him and I wondered what the motivation
of that prisoner might be. Ian, upon hearing the name Patrick O’Riordan, said:
“I
thought I could trust that bastard”.
I told Ian about my time in
Sinn Fein/PIRA and that I had often been in the company of men and women who
disclosed the murders they were involved in. I told Ian that I did not careless
whether he had killed Sophie or not, I was simply interested in O’Riordan’s
motivation as I thought he might have been trying to buy his way in to my
trust.
In reality, I believed Patrick O'Riordan was trying to do something good, after pleading guilty to raping his daughter.
I eventually set-out my understanding
of what happened to Sophie. I told Ian that I thought much of what he had
written about her was true (I did not), down in west Cork flaunting herself,
bathing in a bathroom with no curtains. This misogynistic language encouraged
Ian to sit forward in his seat:
“Yes, Yes, that’s it”
I told Ian that I thought
someone had called to her door and she had boldly dismissed that person and
there was an argument that got out of control. Ian nodded his head and did not
dispute one word that I said, he offered no conspiracy theory, but nodded at
the truth lay before him.
Our conversation lasted about
three-hours, I told Ian that I hoped what I had told him would be helpful, as I
did not like people being stitched up. I told Ian, I could have no further contact
with him as I was out on bail for an alleged assault in 2005 and my association
with him could weaken his position. Ian thanked me and left.
Motivation for this Report to An Garda Siochana 2022
I learned by means of a news
report, 1 July, 2022, that An Garda Siochana were conducting a Review of the
murder of Sophie Tuscan Du Plantier in Cork in 1996.
While I had made a formal
statement to An Garda Siochana in 2005 about the disclosures made to me in
prison, I decided that I might remind the Garda Review Team about the
disclosures made to me in prison in 2004.
Report to An Garda Siochana 2022 (this is not the full report submitted)
I learned by means of a news
report, 1 July, 2022, that An Garda Siochana were conducting a Review of the
murder of Sophie Tuscan Du Plantier in Cork in 1996.
I noted in that news report, 1
July, 2022, that a Mr Jim Sheridan, who was introduced as someone who has made
a documentary about the murder of Sophie Tuscan Du Plantier, stated that Sophie
had been stabbed several times. I would suggest that Mr Sheridan is asked about
this, as it was not disclosed previously, and I believe that such an assertion
could prevent the murderer admitting the crime, if that murderer were at some
point moved by events/guilt to admit the killing, but try and diminish the
murder as an act of violence within an act of rejection. These subtle points
matter to such killers.
I write purely from memory,
and so I have to place matters in context, that is why I will cover matters in
this document that may not appear specific to the murder of Sophie Tuscan Du
Plantier.
Background
In 2004, I was serving a
sentence in Wheatfield Prison (this conviction returning to The Court of
Criminal Appeal in 2022 based on New Findings of Fact) and during this
sentence, a fellow prisoner, Patrick O’Riordan disclosed to me, his close
relationship with Ian Bailey, and how Ian Bailey had disclosed to him in London
that Ian had murdered Sophie Tuscan Du Plantier.
Reporting to An Garda Siochana
When Patrick O’Riordan
disclosed to me what Ian Bailey had told him about his involvement in the
murder of Sophie Tuscan Du Plantier, I immediately made contact with An Garda
Siochana. The campaign against me had calmed down at this stage. Patrick O’Riordan
had no clue that I would contact Gardai, anyone watching the campaign against
me in the media, including comments from corrupt Gardai, would have assumed
that there was no possibility of me talking to Gardai.
Garda Officers involved in the
investigation into the murder of Sophie, visited me in Wheatfield Prison and I
told them exactly the circumstances in which Patrick O’Riordan had disclosed to
me his knowledge of Sophie’s murder.
Garda Officers asked me if
Patrick O’Riordan would speak with them directly and make a formal statement. I
told the Gardai that I would talk to Patrick O’Riordan and ask him to cooperate
with An Garda Siochana. I spoke at length with Patrick O’Riordan, and while he
was struggling with the idea of betraying his friend Ian Bailey, Patrick
O’Riordan came to understand the importance of helping Sophie’s family to get
closure.
Patrick O’Riordan agreed to
make a statement under caution to An Garda Siochana and I arranged for Gardai
to return to Wheatfield Prison and take a cautioned statement from Patrick
O’Riordan.
Patrick O’Riordan was serving
10-years for Rape, it was one of the highest sentences handed down for rape in
The Central Criminal Court in 2004, similar rapes and more gratuitously violent
rapes and multiple-rapes/victims were attracting sentences of 3-7-years.
Patrick O’Riordan gained nothing from making a statement to An Garda Siochana
and would serve his sentence in full.
Upon my release from
Wheatfield in 2005, Garda Officers involved in the Sophie investigation asked
if I would make a formal statement about what Patrick O’Riordan had disclosed
to me, and I did make such a formal statement.
I did not seek any benefit
from this process and I did not gain any benefit from this process, I served my
sentence in full with the normal remission for good behavior.
Upon my release from prison in
2005, I began working with Gardai in relation to concerns regarding Bertie
Ahern and corrupt payments he was receiving in relation to the siting of The
National Children’s Hospital at The Mater Hospital site.
I have in 2022, meet with and
spoken to, in detail, about these matters, a senior Cabinet Minister from the
2005 Fianna Fail lead Government.
Why Did I Believe What Patrick O’Riordan told me?
For decades, I have had to be
able, to a high degree, determine the validity of what people disclose to me.
If I simply reported everything told to me by Terrorists or other Criminals
over the years, I would keep a great many Garda Officers busy. So, I have
developed mechanisms, that help me determine the validity of what people
disclose. Such mechanisms help me sort the wheat from the chaff.
Patrick O’Riordan had nothing
to gain, by telling me that Ian Bailey had admitted Sophie’s murder while
staying with Patrick O’Riordan in London. The context in which Patrick
O’Riordan disclosed was not set-up or staged. Patrick O’Riordan had entered my
cell seeking legal advice about a totally unrelated matter, as had dozens of
other prisoners during my time in Wheatfield.
I was assisting people such as
William ‘Billy’ Clare (Continuity IRA), Larry Kane Snr and Jnr (Real IRA),
Ciaran Byrne (Provisional IRA Bagman), Dessie Dondon and Frog Eyes Stanners
(McCarty/Dundon feud Limerick), Kinahan Gang members and so forth. All of the
prisoners I assisted, felt confident to disclose to me as the State appeared to
be hammering me.
By pure chance, when Patrick
O’Riordan entered my cell, the TV was on, and the news was being reported. The
news reported something about the Sophie Tuscan Du Plantier Murder and Ian
Bailey, I had no particular interest in either. Patrick O’Riordan said in
passing, in a casual manner, “I know Ian Bailey”. I then became interested in
the relationship between Patrick O’Riordan and Ian Bailey.
When I showed an interest,
Patrick O’Riordan disclosed in a very casual manner, a very close personal
relationship with Ian Bailey. Patrick O’Riordan disclosed information about Ian
Bailey, that could only come from a relationship were two men had bonded beyond
that of mere friendship.
Patrick O’Riordan told me how
he and Ian Bailey had been extremely close at the time of Sophie’s murder.
Patrick O’Riordan said that he was operating a chip-van at the time of the
murder, and as Ian Bailey could not get work as a journalist following Sophie’s
murder, Patrick had given Ian a job in his chip van, the chip van was operated
by both Patrick and Ian.
Patrick and Ian regularly
drank alcohol together, smoked cannabis, both men were violent towards women,
both men had arrived in Ireland following violence against women in England.
Patrick O’Riordan had operated a Brothel in England and so the abuse of women was
second nature to him, it was easy to understand how Ian Bailey or any other person
could disclose a serious crime to Patrick O’Riordan.
At some point after the murder
of Sophie, Patrick O’Riordan had returned to London, and Ian Bailey joined
Patrick in London at some point. It was during this shared time in London, that
Ian Bailey and Patrick O’Riordan were sharing ‘Trophies’ (Crimes) that Ian
admitted that he had in fact, not in dark-humour, murdered Sophie. Ian Bailey
was able to disclose that Sophie had not been raped, Ian had simply got into
rage when Sophie denied his drink fuelled romantic advances.
It is common for violent
criminals to share Trophies, each believing that the other will remain loyal to
the other as they have both admitted guilt, “You Rat on me, I will Rat on you”,
would be the mantra.
For example, when I was a
member of Sinn Fein/PIRA, it was common for Sinn Fein/PIRA members to share ‘Trophies’,
I was often in the company of men who disclosed their roles in murders,
bombings and so forth.
Patrick O’Riordan’s fellow
brothel-keeper and sexual-partner in London was an actress of Brookside fame, so
it is easy to see that O’Riordan and Bailey would have common interests. It
would also be easy to see how either Ian or Patrick, or both, could buy-into
the company of Sophie Tuscan Du Plantier, and due to their skewed view of
women, misinterpret Sophie’s kind nature.
By the time of the full
disclosure by Ian Bailey to Patrick O’Riordan, the bond was so strong between
the two men, that Patrick O’Riordan felt unable to tell An Garda Siochana about
Ian Bailey’s admission.
Events that brought Patrick O’Riordan into my Cell?
In 2001, Patrick
O’Riordan had arranged to meet with his 22-year-old daughter, whom he had not
seen for some time, in Cork. After spending an evening drinking together and
smoking cannabis, Patrick O’Riordan invited his daughter to stay with him in a
Bed and Breakfast in Cork. During this stay in the Bed and Breakfast, Patrick
O’Riordan raped his daughter, and then made his way to Cork Airport where he
was arrested by Gardai following a complaint being made to An Garda Siochana by
his daughter. Patrick O’Riordan later pleaded Guilty to rape and was sentenced
to 10-years.
In 2001, Ian Bailey
seriously assaulted his partner, Jules Thomas, and then made his way to Cork
Airport where he was arrested by An Garda Siochana. The Modus Operandi of Patrick
O’Riordan and Ian Bailey in 2001, following violent attacks on women in Cork should
not be over-looked.
John O’Donohue TD and the Sophie Tuscan Du Plantier Murder
When I spoke to Garda Officers
who had been involved in the Sophie Tuscan Du Plantier investigation, the role
of John O’Donoghue TD as Minister for Justice is paramount.
While initially placing
pressure on James Hamilton (DPP) to bring charges against Ian Bailey,
O’Donoghue then allegedly decided that Ian Bailey should not be charged and the
case be shelfed as unsolved.
John O’Donoghue also initially
placed pressure on senior investigating Garda Officers to solve the case,
however, as the case became a national and international embarrassment, O’Donoghue
sought to have the case shelfed.
The reason that I believed
what I had been told about O’Donoghue’s abuse in public office, is because, I
had under a freedom of information request, discovered O’Donoghue’s abuse in my
own case, DPP v Vincent McKenna. In my own case O’Donoghue had not only lobbied
Gardai and James Hamilton (DPP) to initially charge me, after the DPP had
directed no charges, but O’Donoghue had left a paper trail (see, Exhibits).
While O’Donoghue had visited
me in Wheatfield Prison shortly after my sentencing and apologised for his
interference in my case, and I had rejected his apology, neither O’Donoghue nor
I, could have anticipated what would be disclosed under a FOI request. After I
had received the disclosures, O’Donoghue moved quickly to change the FOI
Legislation, and Leinster House voted like sheep without inquiring for the need
for the proposed change. O’Donoghue also directed some of his staff to shred
papers relating to O’Donoghue’s perverting justice in my case.
So, I am satisfied, having
personal knowledge and evidence of O’Donoghue’s corruption in public office,
that his abuse of office in relation to the case of Sophie Tuscan Du Plantier
is central to the failure of the case to be prosecuted.
While John O’Donoghue TD was giving interviews to the media, stating that he was pursuing a policy of “Zero Tolerance” to sex crime, the reality was something completely different, like Gerry Adams saying Sinn Fein/PIRA were policing the communities in Belfast, when in fact they were protecting hundreds of prolific child-rapists and moving then into north Dublin, Dundalk and Donegal.
Exhibit 1
Following the disclosures of
John O’Donoghue’s criminal activity in my case, I issued criminal proceedings
against O’Donoghue.
