Notices warning property developer Brian O'Donnell and his wife Mary Patricia not to interfere with a receiver's attempts to take possession of their home have been nailed to the gates of the house at Vico Road, Killiney, Co Dublin.
The move came after an application by the couples’ children to prevent the Bank of Ireland-appointed receiver from taking over the house, once valued at €30 million.
Mr Justice Brian McGovern dismissed the action and granted Cian Ferriter SC permission to serve notice by email and by posting the papers on the gates of the house, Gorse Hill.
The O'Donnells must comply with the order by 4pm Wednesday.
As the news of the application's rejection filtered through to a large group gathered outside the house, New Land League member John Martin said he had consulted with Brian O'Donnell and that the family would consider whatever papers arrived from the court.
If the papers were warnings against trespass, then Mr O’Donnell would consider whether he should counter-claim, Mr Martin said.
Mr Martin said that it was his opinion that the O’Donnells would not be moving out of the house and would contest whatever moves were made against them.
Bank order
Legal sources said if Brian and Mary Patricia O’Donnell do not vacate the property, the bank would have two ways to enforce the order.
It could lodge papers seeking to have the sheriff attend and take possession of the house under Garda supervision, a process that could take weeks or months to complete.
Alternatively, the bank could seek to have the couple declared in contempt of court, which could result in “attachment and committal”, the general mechanism used when somebody is in breach of a court order. This refers to the process by which individuals are brought to court by gardaí to explain their failure to comply with an order.
"The softer one is the sending out [of] the sheriff because it takes weeks, months sometimes, for the paperwork to be processed by the central office of the High Court, and for the sheriff to find a time in his diary to attend and take possession," the legal source said.
The couple could give up possession and take separate court proceedings for damages due to loss of property rights, but to do this they would have to leave the property. The process would also take a number of years.
Receiver’s agents
Agents for the receiver arrived at the house just as darkness was falling. One man, who arrived first, stood in the gateway of the house with a small camera as a minibus arrived about five minutes later.
Two men got out of the minibus and went directly to an intercom on the wall beside the gate, but were unable to get an answer from inside the house. They then moved to the large wooden gates, where they nailed a package of documents addressed to Brian and Mary Patricia O’Donnell.
As they did so, a large traffic jam built up along the narrow road which leads to a Dart car park. A number of motorists remonstrated with the minibus driver and a cacophony of horn blowing broke out before the men told the media they were “from the receiver”, and left on the minibus.
The New Land League is styled as a modern iteration of the Land League formed by Michael Davitt. Its leader, Jerry Beades, has said the group will assist anybody whose family home is being threatened by the banks.
Mr Martin said the group’s blockade would remain in place at the gates, unless their “invitation from Mr O’Donnell” was rescinded.
Neither Mr O’Donnell nor his wife have been seen by media camped at the gates of the property since Monday morning.
