A bitter family dispute which led to a descendant of an Ulster peer going to jail has been settled, the High Court in Belfast was told yesterday.
Marion Russell (33), a great-grand-daughter of the Earl of Kilmorey, spent a week in prison last September for contempt of court after she defied an order to reveal where she had hidden £250,000 worth of antiques.
Mrs Russell, who lives in converted stables on the 800-acre Kilmorey estate at Mourne Park, Kilkeel, Co Down, was jailed on the application of her sister, Mrs Bonnie Horsman, Banbridge, and her brother, Mr Philip Anley, Kilkeel.
Three days had been set aside for a hearing to determine ownership of the estate and all the "chattels" in Mourne Park House. But yesterday the court was told that the parties had reached agreement.
Mr Frank O'Donoghue QC, for Mrs Russell, said that the settlement was on terms which were not being disclosed and the only reason that a formal order could not be made was that Mrs Julie Ann Anley, mother of the three siblings, was not present due to illness. He said that the settlement required Mrs Anley's formal consent, but no problem was anticipated in that regard.