McDowell gambles political career on being right about Frank Connolly

The one thing everyone can say about Justice Minister Michael McDowell, is that he never backs down. As the controversy surrounding his Dail statement alleging Frank Connolly’s connections to the Columbia 3 and a false passport application gains a bringing-down-the-government type momentum, McDowell ain’t for turning. If he’s wrong, he’s gone.

He said that he revealed the garda documents about Frank Connolly to protect the State from subversion. He didn’t say how Connolly was subverting the State, or how a visit to Columbia was subverting the State. As Prof Dermot Walsh of the University of Limerick told The Irish Times today: "The principle of innocence until proven guilty is fundamental to civilisation throughout the world. Leaking documents from a criminal investigation to a particular newspaper - that's subversion of the State."

If McDowell is wrong about Connolly then his crusade against Connolly will look like the biggest witch hunt since Salem.

It’s no secret that Connolly as a journalist was unpopular in political circles because, as an investigative reporter he - shock and horror - exposed scandals. Like the scandal involving planning corruption that led to the Flood tribunal. Oh yeah, and that other scandal involving corrupt gardai in Donegal which led to another tribunal and a damning report from the tribunal chairman.

And before anyone goes putting 3 & 8 together and coming up with 42, let’s be clear about one thing, there could never be any question that the gardai would have a file on Connolly that they, erm, shouldn’t have. Got that. It just couldn’t happen, right!

And then there’s this other thing Connolly was involved in. The setting up of the Centre for Public Inquiry (CPI). An independent body set up to examine issues of public importance and most likely expose corruption during the course of its findings. Now who’d want a thing like that?

Both McDowell and Bertie Ahern lobbied the Irish-American millionaire and patron of the CPI, Chuck Feeny, on behalf of, erm, themselves. They told Feeny of Connolly’s alleged dodgy tooing and froing and Feeny believed them. Feeny withdrew funding of Eur800,000 from the CPI on the basis of conversations with Ahern and McDowell.

But, it seems everything is beginning to go a little pear-shaped for the government. Rumour has it that Feeny is going to chuck (sorry) his money back in. Perhaps just in time for the CPI’s next investigation. Thornton Hall. Remember that one. The prison in the middle of no-where that cost an arm and a leg.

There is one thing for sure that would bring McDowell down on his knees. An explanation from Connolly as to his whereabouts when allegedly he was in Colombia. He says he’s never been there.

Most people are suspicious that he has something to hide by not being forthright with his explanations. If he’s biding his time to drop a bombshell on McDowell, there’ll be a new government within months.

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