A man has brought a High Court action aimed at having a gold Rolex watch seized from him by gardaí returned.
John Connors claims the watch is his, and that it was bought in London by his mother for £4,000 cash in 2009 as a gift for his father and then passed on to him.
The watch was taken from Mr Connors by gardaí after his vehicle was stopped and searched last March. In an affidavit, Michelle Sheeran, solicitor for Mr Connors, said the watch was taken after a garda saw him pass it to another person in the vehicle.
He did this because, as a member of the Travelling community, he previously had bad experiences involving seizure of property by gardaí, she said. His claims were denied by gardaí, the affidavit added.
Earlier this month Judge Victor Blake made an order forfeiting the property to the State.
Mr Justice Michael Peart yesterday granted an application for leave to bring the case and returned it to January.