The legal action between RTÉ broadcaster Pat Kenny and his neighbour over ownership of lands near their homes in Dalkey has been settled, the High Court heard today.
After an appeal by Ms Justice Maureen Clark for both sides to end the dispute, lawyers for the Kennys and Gerard Charlton, a semi-retired solicitor, struck a deal over the weekend.
The High Court today heard Kenny and his wife Kathy agreed to buy the rocky outcrop known as Gorse Hill from Mr Charlton and his wife Maeve after both parties entered out-of-court talks.
Under the terms of today's settlement, the sides in the dispute cannot divulge what the Kennys will pay for the land. Both parties have agreed to pay their own legal costs.
Ms Justice Clark had issued her appeal last Friday as the case was about to go into evidence. She urged the sides to remember they would be neighbours at the end of the case and to "think long and hard" before things were said in evidence which could not be taken back.
Former Attorney General Rory Brady SC agreed to act as mediator and held ten hours of talks on Sunday.
Speaking after the short court hearing, Kenny said he and his family were delighted the "deeply distressing" episode was over. He thanked family and friends, RTÉ colleagues and well-wishers as well as Ms Justice Clark.
"Those of you who reported on the proceedings realise you have only heard the assertions of one side in this dispute which may have provided some dramatic headlines, but which would have been utterly rebutted by us in court," Kenny told reporters.
"Some people who were not in court may have thought that this was a David and Goliath battle," he added. "It was not. It was a dispute between us and a neighbour who is a successful and experienced solicitor and owner of properties.
Mr Kenny told reporters that Ms Justice Clark’s visit to Gorse Hill and other relevant properties was crucial to an understanding of claims made by the parties and, in particular, the position he adopted. “Her wisdom in suggesting mediation set in train the resolution of this difficult and upsetting case,” he said. “We wish that mediation had taken place much earlier.
"Gorse Hill has provided our family, and in particular our children, with security and privacy for the last 17 years and has been maintained as a wildlife sanctuary by us during that time. Following the settlement ... we are delighted that it will continue to do so. Above all, we wish that our children can return to the normal life that they enjoyed before this dispute began.
"The entire episode has been deeply distressing for all of us and, more than anything, we want to put it behind us."
Mr Kenny said he did not have his day in court to dispute allegations made when the case was opened, but that they had forsaken that to put the case behind them. "We think it was the right decision."
The presenter said Mr Charlton's assertion in court that he would leave his door open and that people like Mr Kenny would drop by, was a "bit fanciful".
However, he said he and his wife will have "civil discourse with the Charltons where it arises and we hope
that our neighbourly relations will resume in a civilised way."
Separately, Mr Charlton said both he and his wife were happy that the case was over.
“An outcome has emerged and Mr and Mrs Kenny have agreed to purchase Gorse Hill. We are very happy with this outcome,” he said. “As we wish to bring closure to this very debilitating and traumatic episode in our lives, we will be making no further comment.”
In a statement read in the High Court, Mr Brady said both families had felt a real sense of grievance about how they were treated by the other and that, as time went by, that intensified with each new act or statement adding to an unhealthy and unwelcome tension. He said he was satisfied that both parties genuinely believed that
they had a legal right to their side.
"Each family acted in the bone fide belief that the disputed piece of land was their land to be protected and secured from the other," he added.
In the action, the Charltons claimed they were the legal owners of the 0.2 acre strip of land at Gorse Hill and had owned the land since buying their own home in 1971.
In their defence and counterclaim, the Kennys said they had acquired the land by virtue of adverse possession or squatters' rights since 1991 and had a legal claim restraining any development on the land.
They said they used the land as a nature reserve for foxes and badgers and carried out numerous gardening and improvement works on the land over the years.
Mr Kenny denied claims that he asked the Charltons to sell Gorse Hill to him on a number of occasions or that he sought and obtained the Charltons' consent to a new pedestrian gate allowing access to the Gorse Hill property.
