Disputed land will 'soon be sold'

The 66-acre tract of land at the centre of a family dispute in Co Clare will soon be sold, the auctioneer looking after its sale said yesterday.

Limerick auctioneer John de Courcy, who is handling the sale of the €1.4 million land near Tulla, said: "I expect that we will be able to conclude a deal fairly soon. There is plenty of interest."

Mr de Courcy said the land did not sell at auction recently "due to the current climate and time of year".

The lands at Larraroe and Rannagh, near Tulla, are being sold in five lots and include two ruins and an old residence. The lands have substantial road frontage.

The proposed sale was allowed to proceed after Judge Harvey Kenny ordered in August that Marie O'Halloran vacate the farmland after an action taken by her sister-in-law, Josephine Barry (72). Ms O'Halloran told Ennis Circuit Court that her late husband, Stanley O'Halloran, reached a deal in the late 1970s with the farm's owner, his late brother, Michael, to purchase the lands for £65,000. She said her husband paid varying sums of cash over the years to Michael, a bachelor farmer.

Counsel for Ms O'Halloran admitted that no record of the agreement existed, nor had Ms O'Halloran been able to recover any record of cheques paid by Stanley to Michael.

In evidence, Ms Barry dismissed the money paid by Stanley to their brother Michael as "pocket money" and said she had no knowledge of a deal between the two to sell the farm.

Michael O'Halloran died aged 64 in May 2004 intestate and his farm was divided three ways, between his two sisters, Ms Barry and Ida Rohan, and his brother, Stanley. Stanley died four months later aged 68 and his share passed to his wife, Marie.

Ms Barry wanted the lands sold and the judge granted possession to Ms Barry, an injunction against Ms O'Halloran from re-entering the lands and damages of €30,000. However, shortly afterwards, a sign was erected on the site stating: "The O'Hallorans have been evicted from these lands despite several attempts to settle. The O'Halloran family now intends to purchase the lands at auction."

Solicitors for Marie O'Halloran subsequently wrote to solicitors for Ms Barry stating the sign had been removed and that she would not carry out any acts that would hinder the sale of the lands.

Following another incident, the matter was brought back to Ennis Circuit Court in October and Ms O'Halloran's sons gave sworn undertakings not to obstruct the sale. A court order was granted to this effect.