An English solicitor who is a key potential witness for the tribunal, but who has refused to come to Dublin to give evidence, was in Dublin in March, the tribunal heard.
Northampton-based solicitor Christopher Vaughan acted for Westferry Ltd, a company owned by an O'Brien family trust, in the purchase of Doncaster Rovers Football Club in August 1998.
In September 1998 Mr Vaughan wrote a letter to Michael Lowry in which he referred to Mr Lowry's "total involvement" in the transaction. He has since told the tribunal in correspondence that he was under a misapprehension when he wrote the letter.
Denis O'Brien told John Coughlan SC, for the tribunal, that he had paid Mr Vaughan in relation to the time Mr Vaughan had spent responding to the tribunal. He also said he had urged him to come to Dublin to give evidence.
Mr Coughlan said that earlier this year Mr Vaughan had been "minded" to come and give evidence but had then changed his mind. Mr O'Brien agreed. Mr Coughlan said Mr Vaughan had been in Dublin on March 9th and 10th this year and had so informed LK Shields, a solicitors firm working for Westferry. "I don't remember them telling me that," Mr O'Brien said.
Mr Coughlan said that "if the tribunal had been informed, it could have served a witness summons" on Mr Vaughan. Mr O'Brien said: "I didn't know you wanted to serve a witness summons on him." He said Mr Vaughan was a "very credible man" but he had been "very upset" by how the tribunal had treated him during a private meeting.
Mr Coughlan said a fax which referred to an "ML" in relation to the Doncaster project had not been disclosed to the tribunal. Mr O'Brien said Mr Lowry had no involvement with the Doncaster project and he had no recollection of seeing the document.
His solicitors, William Fry, had sent all the Doncaster documents to LK Shields solicitors when that firm began representing Westferry and his father, Denis O'Brien snr, in relation to the tribunal.
Mr Coughlan asked why all the papers were sent to LK Shields. Mr O'Brien said it was because the firm started to work for Westferry while William Fry continued working for him. "But you were Westferry," said Mr Coughlan. "No, I was Denis O'Brien," said Mr O'Brien.
