Residents tell developer that he 'couldn't build a snowman'

EXCHANGES:THERE WERE heated exchanges in the Round Hall of the Four Courts yesterday as residents of Priory Hall apartment complex in Donaghmede, Dublin, confronted one of the developers of their homes.

Tempers rose as residents accused Thomas McFeely of living in a nice house while they were being made homeless.

Mr McFeely responded with an accusation of “begrudgery”, claiming he lived “in a plane these days”. He said he had first heard of the court action when he received a phone call in Portugal on Wednesday night.

He told the residents that “95 per cent” of the remedial work on Priory Hall had already been completed and while certification had not been given to the city council, he had an expert ready to attest to this in court.

To complaints from some residents that they had “lost a quarter of a million”, Mr McFeely told the residents: “You might have lost a proportion of your apartment but I have lost everything but I’ve got to keep going.

“I’ll tell you something and this may satisfy some of the begrudgery. The bank has taken my house anyway. So hey, happy days.”

This led to further shouts of derision and complaints that the apartments “were built incorrectly”, including allegations that there were “flat roofs with leaks in every apartment”, and allegations that Mr McFeely “couldn’t build a snowman”. Some residents also offered personal insults. Mr McFeely said: “If you don’t want me to speak, I am not going to speak if you speak over my head”. He also said: “Do you not think I am paying mortgages out there too? I have 60-odd mortgages out there.”

Later, after Mr McFeely agreed to carry out a schedule of remedial works on the apartments and the court had made its orders, Mr McFeely was pursued by residents across a car park as he left the courts complex.

With men and women rushing after him shouting questions, followed rapidly by a large contingent of media carrying recorders and cameras, Mr McFeely walked briskly as far as Church Street, where he was collected by car.

The residents, who had been told their best option was to move to a hotel for at least five weeks to allow Mr McFeely to complete remedial works, then called a press conference on the steps of the Round Hall at the court building.

Darren Kelly said the residents “had no confidence whatsoever in the ability of Mr McFeely to carry out these [remedial] works” and he said he personally would like to see the complex knocked down. To the approval of those standing around him, he said living in a hotel with a baby who needed bottles and fresh nappies was “totally unsatisfactory”.

He said residents felt “totally let down” and that Dublin City Council tenants were moved from the complex in 2009 while private owners and renters had to wait until last week.