The ex-girlfriend of a man accused of a robbery at Lordship Credit Union during which Detective Garda Adrian Donohoe was murdered has told the Special Criminal Court that her then partner was at their home in Armagh around the time of the robbery.
Charlene O'Callaghan who was giving evidence this week told Gardaí she spoke to one of two co-accused men, her then boyfriend Brendan Treanor, at their house in Tullydonnell, Co Armagh, between 9.15pm and 9.55pm on the night of the robbery.
Det Gda Donohoe was shot dead at around 9.30pm on the night of January 25, 2013. 34-year-old Mr Treanor previously of Emer Terrace, Castletown Road, Dundalk, Co Louth, and James Flynn (32) from South Armagh are charged with the robbery of €7,000 at Lordship Credit Union in Bellurgan, Co Louth, on January 25, 2013.
Both men are also charged that between September 11, 2012, and January 23, 2013, they conspired with convicted Garda-killer Aaron Brady and others to enter residential premises with the intention of stealing car keys. They have pleaded not guilty to each charge. Meanwhile, Ms O'Callaghan told Brendan Grehan SC, prosecuting, that she came home to Tullydonnell from her hairdresser business in Dundalk at around 9.15pm.
She said she had been in a relationship with Mr Treanor for around four years between 2012 and 2016 and that they had been living together at the Tullydonnell address. Ms O'Callaghan said that after she arrived home at 9.15pm she went upstairs to watch television and took a shower before leaving to get food for her and Mr Treanor.
Ms O'Callaghan said that Mr Treanor was present in the house before she left to go to a takeaway in Crossmaglen, which was ten minutes away, and had spoken to him about what he wanted to eat before she left. The court then viewed CCTV of Superbites takeaway in Crossmaglen where Ms O'Callaghan can be seen entering the premises and ordering food at 10.05pm before she left at around 10.17pm.
Ms O'Callaghan said she drove straight home and that Mr Treanor told her that he had dropped his phone into the bath while washing their dogs. The witness said the first time she saw Mr Treanor in the house was after she took her shower and watched television but could not remember what he was wearing. Ms O'Callaghan said she did not witness Mr Treanor dropping his phone into the bath but told Mr Grehan that he was in possession of the phone on January 25, 2013.
Separately, Aaron Brady (32) previously of New Road, Crossmaglen, Co Armagh, is serving a life sentence with a 40-year minimum having been found guilty of murdering Det Gda Donohoe and of the robbery at Lordship. He denied any involvement in the robbery and is awaiting an appeal against his conviction. The trial continues before presiding judge Mr Justice Tony Hunt, Judge Sarah Berkeley and Judge Alan Mitchell.
