In a recent case brought before the High Court, Sylvia Fox, a businesswoman who hails from Bennettsbridge, Co Kilkenny, states she was threatened by a man refusing to vacate a residence she purchased. She acquired two properties located in a partially finished housing development that was sold after the original developer declared bankruptcy. She alleges that Martin Reilly warned her, in no uncertain terms, not to encroach upon what is now legally her land.
Ms Fox is seeking a court injunction to halt Mr Reilly and a certain Donna Heslin from continuing to inhabit one of the homes, situated in Lock Eala, Loch Gowna, Co Cavan. Ruaidhrí Giblin BL, Ms Fox’s representative, was granted permission to serve the injunction procedures to the tenants at the disputed property. Currently, only Ms Fox’s side has been represented, and court proceedings are due to continue in the coming week.
When questioned by the judge about the nature of the property, Mr Giblin clarified that it was part of an unfinished estate whose original developer had run into financial trouble, with the property later being sold by a receiver from Everyday Finance DAC to Ms Fox. This particular property was one of two that she acquired within the same estate.
The judge noted ambiguity in Ms Fox’s filed affidavit regarding her intentions for the property, it being unclear if it was an investment or personal residence. He did remark that an unsuccessful offer had been extended by Ms Fox to the defendants.
Ms Fox purchased both properties in March of the previous year, via Everyday’s receiver. She states that she was cognizant of the property’s occupation status at the time and that the receiver had failed to gain entry. The defendants have been living there without Everyday’s approval since 2016 and have repeatedly been requested to discontinue their commercial activities and vacate the premises.
After acquiring two properties in March, Mrs. Fox’s husband took it upon himself to inspect both sites. To their surprise, her husband’s photograph turned up on a Facebook page suspected to be managed by a person known to circulate government, court, and bank conspiracy theories and misinformation. The uploaded picture caption challenged individuals to identify these two suspicious individuals and asked them to tip off the local police, which Mrs. Fox considered a scheme to harass her husband, herself, or potentially mess with her property purchase.
Later on, her husband encountered the property developer at his Kildare-based commercial premises, where he discovered that the defendants were open to acquiring the house for €220,000. However, Mrs. Fox was convinced that the property was worth €495,000 in the market. Subsequently, in August, her lawyer sent the defendants a notice to halt their trespasses on her property, warning them of imminent legal repercussions.
The nasty incident that occurred on October 16th was such a shock to Mrs. Fox that it left her unable to drive home. As she worked in the second house she purchased, she was confronted by Mr. Reilly, who yelled at her in a threatening tone, warning her not to “trespass” her own property – his final warning. She suspects that Mr. Reilly chose to confront her only after the workmen in the second property had departed, as a tactic to shock and control her.