A couple from Co Laois, Alan O’Neill, and June Finnegan, have accused a development company and its leaders of violating a High Court order designed to prevent them from engaging in communication regarding a disagreement over the proprietorship of a garage utilised for housing exotic pets. The couple is suing Drumgoan Developments Limited, Noel Martin snr and Darren Martin in relation to the garage, which is positioned near the couple’s Crann Nua residence located on Edenderry Road, Portarlington.
Ruaidhrí Giblin, the couple’s representative, communicated to Mr Justice David Nolan on Thursday that Mr Martin snr, one of the defendants, had violated an order prohibiting direct communication with O’Neill and Finnegan. This order was part of a legal proceeding in which the couple alleges that the defendants intimidated them.
The counsel, under advisement from solicitor Paul Kelly, lodged a request following the latest alleged violation, for a court-sanctioned motion seeking the arrest of Mr Martin snr and potential imprisonment. This request was granted provisionally by the judge and the case has been postponed until next week.
Lawyers representing the firm and the Martins informed the judge on Wednesday, after the breach was reportedly committed, that while they dispute the couple’s allegations, they are willing to promise not to interrupt the couple’s use of the garage. Mr Justice Nolan has reaffirmed the injunction that bans the defendants from establishing direct communication with the couple. He had previously expressed optimism about a resolution and warned against the severe repercussions of violating the court order or the undertakings.
In the proceedings, the couple is arguing that the defendants are claiming ownership of the garage, which is beside their home where they’ve resided for two decades.
Rental property owner, Marc Godart, is facing accusations for seemingly ignoring the rulings of the High Court. A pair in Crann Nua state alleges they bought their residence, alongside a garage constructed by Drumgoan in 2005, for an extra cost. However, in spite of having remunerated for it, the couple insists that the garage hasn’t been correctly conferred to them, due to an oversight by their previous legal advisor.
This garage, they admit, is located on grounds which since 2023 is registered under Drumgoan. They allege that they only discovered the issue in recent times. They also accuse the defendants of making money demands from them, as well as their neighbours who also own garages in the same estate, in what they believe to be a “land grab”.
The complainants recall how on a day in February, they heard heavy pounding on their garage wall, finding two individuals destructing the wall using power instruments. Another individual reportedly arrived in a mechanical digger and purportedly bulldozed through the wall of the garage. This happened even after he was informed about pets being inside.
The pair use this garage as a habitat for various reptiles including chameleons, scorpions, tarantulas and an alligator of the female caiman species. Moreover, the pair asserts that they have received menacing messages from Mr Martin Snr. They claim these messages, including threats to report them to Tusla, are an attempt to intimidate his family into conceding with the defendant’s plot.