Anglo Irish Bank has secured court orders clearing the way for it to sell 11 residential investment properties with which solicitor Thomas Byrne had dealings.

At the Commercial Court yesterday, Mr Justice Peter Kelly granted orders to the bank against Mr Byrne for possession of the properties, but noted the bank did not intend to execute the order against any tenant of the properties.

Earlier, Denis McDonald SC, for the bank, stressed the order would not affect existing tenants of the properties. The bank wants to sell the properties to partly meet debts of some €4.8 million due to it from Mr Byrne and has said it proposes to sell them on a "sitting tenants" basis.

Mr Byrne, whose practice at Walkinstown Road, Dublin, has been closed by the Law Society, did not enter a defence to the proceedings.

In its action, Anglo Irish sought orders permitting receivers appointed by it to sell a number of properties to satisfy a judgment for a total of €4.89 million. It secured that judgment, plus costs, from the court on November 1st last.

Other institutions that had made claims concerning some of the properties involved have agreed to lift those claims, the court heard yesterday.

The properties affected are located at: Palmerstown Woods, Dublin 22; Wheatfield Avenue, Clondalkin; Beatty Park, Celbridge, Co Kildare; Cherrywood Drive, Clondalkin; three properties at Grangeview Road, Clondalkin; two properties at Westbourne Park, Clondalkin; and two properties at The Anchorage, Bettystown, Co Meath.

In separate proceedings yesterday, Darren Maguire, a bus driver, secured a High Court order preventing the registration of a house which Mr Byrne tried to buy as part of a €9 million property portfolio.

Mr Maguire of Ballintine, Kilmeague, Naas, Co Kildare, claims he is the lawful owner of a house at 103 Clonard Road, Crumlin, which Mr Byrne had promised to buy for €381,000 before his practice was closed by the Law Society.

Mr Justice Richard Johnson yesterday granted orders declaring the purported transfer of the Clonard Road property to be null and void.