A High Court decision yesterday has cleared the way for golfer Nick Faldo to complete the purchase of Bartragh Island off the Co Mayo coast where he intends to develop an 18-hole links golf course.
Ms Justice Carroll yesterday found in favour of a previous owner of the island, Ms Mary Molloy, a physiotherapist and psychologist of Quay Road, Killala, Co Mayo, who had claimed in an action against a Co Roscommon singer, Mr Sean Simon, that she was frustrated in her attempts to exercise her option to buy back the island. Mr Simon later negotiated a sale of the island to Nick Faldo International in October 1997.
Ms Molloy had sued Mr Simon of Deerpark, Loughrea, Boyle, Co Roscommon.
The court heard Ms Molloy, after getting into financial difficulties, sold the island to Mr Simon under a 1996 agreement which stated that she had an option to buy it back within 90 days.
Ms Justice Carroll found that Ms Molloy's attempts to exercise her option had been "frustrated" and the court will calculate at a later date the amount of damages to be paid to Ms Molloy.
Mr Simon had told a previous court hearing that he took out a loan with the Irish Nationwide Building Society to buy the island which was repayable within a year.
From October 1998 to May 2002 the loan sat there gathering interest and there was nothing he could do, he said. His guarantor for the loan became disillusioned and was not prepared to meet the repayments.
The Irish Nationwide Building Society took possession of the island because they were owed monies by Mr Simon and agreed the sale of the land for € 1.5 million to Mr Faldo with a closing date of December 3rd last.
Ms Justice Carroll said Irish Nationwide as mortgagees in possession had agreed for the sale and since Ms Molloy had previously agreed that the Irish Nationwide mortgage on the island would rank ahead of her option, then Irish Nationwide was entitled to complete the sale.
Undertakings were given on behalf Mr Simon that he would not draw down from Irish Nationwide any surplus proceeds of the sale of the island and would allow the money to remain there until the court calculates what damages should be awarded to Ms Molloy. There are also proceedings involving another island near Bartragh.
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Business interests in north Mayo and west Sligo have welcomed yesterday's decision by the High Court to give golfer Nick Faldo the go-ahead to complete the purchase of Bartragh Island in the estuary of the River Moy.
Some concern has been expressed, though, about the environmental impact of Mr Faldo's plans for a "world class links" on the windswept 367 acres which is currently pristine, uninhabited and undeveloped.
Mr Matt Farrell, President of Ballina Chamber of Commerce, said the island is of absolutely no economic benefit to the region but all that would change.
"Bartragh would become a mecca for golfers and the spinoff for Ballina and the entire region would be enormous," he said, before bemoaning any low-key, negative reactions to the Faldo proposals. "Here in the west we seem to harbour negative or pessimistic thoughts about ambitious plans of this nature. We need to think big and think positive."
Ms Michelle Mulherin, a Fine Gael member of Ballina Urban Council, wasn't as enthusiastic.
"There is a danger that the links might become too exclusive and people might just drop in and out in their helicopters and not frequent the mainland at all," she said.
She also raised environmental concerns pointing out that the island has been unspoiled for centuries apart from the odd fisherman dropping in.
John Walkin, chairman of the North Western Regional Fisheries Board, said the golf course has the potential to become the region's finest amenity in the region.
An Taisce has already indicated that it will be objecting to the proposed Faldo development on the grounds of damage to the island's unique flora and fauna.