A CO KILDARE man has brought a High Court claim alleging he is entitled to sole ownership of 5½ acres of farmlands in Co Kildare and that his father was not entitled to leave the lands equally between his nine children.
Liam Lynch claims the lands had been promised to him by his father, Patrick, but he never spoke to his father after 2004 when his father decided to sell the lands so he would be comfortable in his final years. His father died a year later and left a will bequeathing the lands equally between his children, including Mr Lynch.
Mr Lynch (47), Lattinbog, Naas, Co Kildare, has brought a High Court action against the executors of the estate of his late father aimed at securing sole ownership of the plot of farmland at Gingerstown, Caragh, Naas.
Yesterday, Mr Justice John Hedigan reminded the parties it was "not too late to settle the matter" out of court, stressing that "nothing good can come" from a dispute over 5½ acres of land that has "split a family down the middle".
Opening the case, Colm Ó hOisín SC, for Mr Lynch, said his client's case was that it had been understood within the Lynch family that the lands at Gingerstown would go to him.
Originally, the land was purchased by Mr Lynch's maternal grandfather, Patsy Campbell, who died aged 97 in 1990, and was afterwards put in the name of Mr Lynch's parents, Kathleen and Patrick. Mrs Lynch died after a sudden illness in 2002 and the land was then put in the name of Patrick Lynch.
Mr Lynch claimed one of his brothers told him in 2004 their father wanted to sell the land. In a letter to his children some weeks later, Patrick, who in his later years suffered from a number of illnesses, said he wished to sell the land so he would be comfortable during his final few years.
Mr Lynch was shocked by this and never spoke to his father again, counsel said.
In 2005, shortly before his 76th birthday, Patrick died. His will stipulated the 5½ acres and family home should be divided equally between all his children.
In evidence, Mr Lynch, who lost his leg in a turf-cutting accident, said he now keeps cattle on 40 acres of rented property.
He said nothing has been done with the land since 2004 and that he was the only member of his family that had shown an interest in the land or had done any work on it as it was mainly used for cattle. He had worked and maintained it from a young age until 2004.
While he worked in different jobs throughout his life, he claimed he had done all the physical and paper work in relation to the plot. He had lived at the family home until 2000, before moving to his own home.
Mr Lynch said his grandfather, mother and father had said to him at different times that he was to get the land. However, this all changed in 2004 when his father, whom he said he had previously got on with, decided to sell.
Their final communication, through one of his brothers, was a refusal by his father to give him details about the herd of cattle kept by the family on the lands.