Day 173 - 16 Oct 95 - Page 28
1 Why did you not just instruct the solicitors directly?
2 A. Because we were extremely busy with tremendous
3 harassment going on at the restaurants.
4
5 MR. JUSTICE BELL: What, do you mean you were busy with that?
6 A. Yes.
7
8 Q. So he did the memo?
9 A. He would have done it on my instructions, my Lord, in
10 the sense that -----
11
12 Q. Yes. You are being asked why -- I am just trying to make
13 sure I understand your answer -- you are being asked why
14 you did not do it, and I understood your answer to mean
15 that it was because you had your hands full with the
16 picketing?
17 A. That is correct.
18
19 Q. Is that what you meant, or have I misunderstood you?
20 A. No. That is correct. I was extremely busy with the
21 general harassment that was happening and the violent
22 picketing that was going on at the premises.
23
24 MS. STEEL: So did Mr. Copeland sit down with you and take down
25 your dictation about what was going on with the picketing?
26 A. We certainly would have sat down and discussed the
27 situation. I cannot say -- it is so long ago -- exactly
28 how we did it, but I would have communicated to him, you
29 know, the facts, as I am here, as to what was happening at
30 the restaurant.
31
32 Q. Do you know how long before this was written Mr. Copeland
33 arrived in Ireland?
34 A. No, I do not recollect.
35
36 Q. Because the picketing only started four days before that?
37 A. Yes, that is correct.
38
39 Q. You do not recall that he arrived on the day that he wrote
40 this or that he arrived two days into the strike, or on the
41 first day of the strike, or -----
42 A. No. I do not recollect what day he arrived.
43
44 MR. MORRIS: Would it have been just before this got written?
45 A. I do not know. I cannot recollect what day he arrived.
46
47 Q. What I am saying is, if he wrote this ---
48
49 MR. JUSTICE BELL: It could not be long before, could it?
50
51 MR. MORRIS: --- did not know anything about it, he made it up,
52 or did he do this after coming to the store at some stage
53 before to see you, at some stage before he wrote this?
54 A. He wrote this on my instruction.
55
56 Q. Yes.
57 A. Because of the fact that I had -- I was extremely busy
58 with the situation, which was very violent and very
59 harassment of everybody (sic). So it was a matter of
60 delegating the preparation of this, because we were at a
