A television documentary on the fall-out from the death of Raphoe cattle dealer Richie Barron is to air on RTE2 tonight.
Veteran reporter Charlie Bird is at the helm of the programme, After the Headlines, where he returns to Donegal to meet some of those at the heart of a case in the 1990s when a family mounted a legal battle to clear their name.
Bird travels to Raphoe to interview many of those involved, including Frank McBrearty Snr and Jnr. The programme will focus on the McBrearty family and what they went through after being wrongly accused of being involved in the death of Mr. Barron.
RTE presenter Charlie Bird
According to RTE: “On a dark night in 1996, Mr. Barron was found dead on the side of the road outside the small village of Raphoe.
The evidence pointed to a hit and run but some Gardai felt differently.
They set about building a case to incriminate a local publican family, the McBreartys and a few of their extended family and friends.
Years of harassment and intimidation followed, but the McBreartys fought back. They mounted a legal battle to clear their name which culminated in the Morris Tribunal.
After over 300 days of hearing evidence the tribunal exposed a case of corruption and negligence like no other. The McBreartys were exonerated of any wrongdoing and received compensation from the State.
But what of the human cost? Charlie Bird now returns to Donegal and meets some of those at the heart of this extraordinary case and witnesses the aftermath of a murder that never happened.
The programme will be broadcast on RTE2 on Tuesday 19th December at 9.35pm