This article is from page 20 of the 2011-12-06 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 20 JPG
THE will left by acclaimed Clare poet and author John O’Donohue, that’s valued at over € 2m, has been declared void by the High Court because of a confusion over its “exact meaning”.
This judgment was handed down by Mr Justice Paul Gilligan on Thursday last after proceedings were taken by Mr O’Donohue’s mother, Josephine O’Donohue, seeking clarification of several issues arising from the will that was made in 2001.
The decision to declare the will void means that Mr O’Donohue’s entire € 2m estate passes to his mother, Josie O’Donohue.
In making this ruling, Mr Justice Paul Gilligan said the poet had “un- fortunately provided an illustration of exactly how a person should not make a will”.
Mr Justice Gilligan concluded he was “unable to decipher the exact meaning” of the will.
He said that while Mr O’Donohue was “a man of considerable learning”, the fact he did not benefit from legal advice or assistance was evident from the will. He said the will was deficient due to lack of clarity and said Mr O’Donohue had also unwittingly made “the classic error” of having two intended beneficiaries as witnesses.
Mr O’Donohue’s mother Josie and brother Patrick witnessed the will, but this meant they could not benefit from it as a witness to a will cannot be a beneficiary.
The judge said it was with regret that he concluded that the terms of the will rendered it void “for uncertainty”.
The former priest made a will in February 2001, just before leaving Ireland for a tour of Australia. That will was made without the benefit of legal advice and was later admitted to probate.
That one-page document was signed by him and witnessed by his mother Josephine and brother Peter but issues have arisen as to what was meant by its terms.
In the will, he stated he was leaving all his worldly possessions to his mother Josephine to be divided equally and fairly among his family with “special care and extra help” to be given to his sister Mary.
He also stipulated gifts of money were to be given to a number of oth- er persons.
O’Donohue’s best known work was Ana m Ca r a , published on the same day that Princess Diana died in 1997, it had 13 reprints within 12 months. His other published works include Eter na l Echoes , Divine Bea ut y , Echoes of Memor y , Cona ma r a Blues and Benedictus .
O’Donoghue, who lived in Connemara, died suddenly in January 2008 after collapsing while holidaying in France. He is survived by his mother Josie, brothers Patrick and Peter, sister Mary, two nieces and two nephews.
After his death, new president of Ireland, who was a close friend of Mr O’Donoghue called him “an inspirational figure”, who was “a person of immense courage who gave witness to truth”.