Four Irish charities are to share in the €2 million proceeds from the sale of a house in central Dublin, the Circuit Civil Court was told yesterday.
Mr George Brady SC, counsel for the personal representatives of the late Dr Gearóid Crookes, said he had left his property at 18 Fitzwilliam Place to St Vincent de Paul, Trócaire, Concern and Bóthar, the charity that exports pregnant animals to Africa and the Far East.
Mr Brady, who appeared with Patrick Leonard, told Judge Alan Mahon the house had been sold at auction to Patrick White for €2.1 million and, following the satisfaction of other legacies and expenses, there was a residue of €1.8 million to be shared among the four charities.
He said there was one stumbling block to the completion of sale and distribution of the residue in that wine merchant Peader McCormack, who ran his business from two rooms in Dr Crookes home for almost 20 years, had sought to assert rights over the use of a kitchenette in the house under an expired lease.
Mr Brady said that because of the claim, the personal representatives, Hilda O'Connell, Joseph McHale and Angela McCann, were not in a position to serve a completion notice on the purchaser.
The purchaser would not complete the purchase until the interest of Mr McCormack had been clarified. In the event of Mr McCormack being found to have an interest, the purchaser would have a right to an abatement of the purchase price.
Judge Mahon said that from the evidence presented to the court he had no doubt Mr McCormack, with others, had enjoyed the use of the kitchenette, although various tenancy agreements over the past 20 years had made no mention of it.
While Mr McCormack did have a licence granted by Dr Crookes to use the kitchenette, it was not an irrevocable one and permission had been withdrawn by the plaintiffs in June 2005.
Judge Mahon granted the plaintiffs' declarations that Mr McCormack's interest was limited to a tenancy under an expired agreement and that he was not entitled to use the kitchenette. Granting an injunction restraining him from asserting such a right or interest in the property he awarded costs against him.
Dr Crookes, an ophthalmic surgeon, wrote a history of Dublin's Eye and Ear Hospital.