This article is from page 8 of the 2007-07-31 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 8 JPG
A MAN who purchased a site in Cratloe more than 30 years ago only to discover some years later it had been sold a second time to a former member of Clare County Council has been awarded €80,000 in dam- ages as well as his costs.
Michael Costelloe, originally from County Kerry, initiated legal pro- ceedings against two defendants in the case — the executors of the estate of the late Mr Thomas Flan- nery of Brickhill East, Cratloe, from who he originally bought the site, and former Clare county councillor, Joe O’Gorman. The case was heard on Thursday at Ennis Circuit Civil
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Mr Costelloe was working in Shan- non in 1973 when he purchased the half-acre site from Thomas Flannery, at a cost of £1,500.
Mr Costelloe had sought planning permission to build on the site. How- ever, Clare County Council rejected his application. Mr Costelloe was granted permission on appeal, but he later moved to County Kerry to work and didn’t get to build his new home.
While living in Glin in County Limerick, Mr Costelloe made regu- lar trips to Cratloe to visit the site. During this time, solicitors for Mr Costelloe had attempted to register the property with the Land Registry.
The site was never registered offi- cially and remained in the name of Mr Flannery.
One of the solicitors who acted for Mr Costelloe in the 1980s was Joseph Mangan who was later made a judge of the District Court.
Mr Mangan handed Mr Costelloe’s file over to another solicitor when he gave up his practice to take up his position in the District Court. While listed as a witness, Judge Mangan was not called to give evidence.
It was during a site visit in 1997 that Mr Costelloe discovered that a house was being constructed on the site he had purchased. He immediately con- tacted his solicitor.
It emerged that in 1989 the same
plot of land was sold along with 8 more acres to Joe O’Gorman who at the time was a member of Clare County Council, for £10,000.
The court heard that the transac- tion was dealt with in a “one stop aCe) oMmmont-vevelss mm-ViCO MnO er-lM\y bum mItTebeomy did not engage his own solicitor to oversee the deal. Mr O’Gorman took Mr Flannery (then 79 years old) to the councillor’s solicitor in Scariff where the deal was completed during the short visit. Judge Harvey Kenny described the transaction as “very ir- Korea bd eB ae
He said that there was no evidence the Mr O’Gorman was aware that part of the land had been sold pre- viously to Mr Costelloe. But if Mr
O’Gorman had investigated the his- tory of the site he would have seen that Mr Costelloe had sought per- mission to build there. The judge also said that despite denying so, Mr O’Gorman must have seen marking posts placed on the land by Mr Cos- telloe’s engineers.
While Mr O’Gorman claimed he purchased the land for agricultural use, he later sold seven sites on the property and gave two acres to his son. The court heard that the site Mr Costelloe purchased for £1,500 would be worth €250,000 today.
Judge Kenny awarded damages of €80,000 to Mr Costelloe and ordered that the plaintiff’s costs to be covered by both defendants in the case.