Musician seeks to sell land at centre of legal dispute

MUSICIAN JIM Corr and business partner Liam Marks are seeking to sell a 91-acre landholding in Co Kilkenny which is at the centre of a High Court dispute.

ACC Bank has initiated legal proceedings against the two men over their alleged failure to repay a loan of €1.36 million to buy land at Barrowmount, near the village of Goresbridge in east Co Kilkenny. The Dutch-owned bank told the High Court last week that it believed Mr Corr was evading being served notice of the bank’s proceedings against him.

The court heard that registered letters sent to Mr Corr were returned to the bank’s solicitor marked “not called for”.

Mr Justice John MacMenamin granted ACC an order allowing it to serve Mr Corr notice of the proceedings by “ordinary prepaid post at his normal place of residence” – an apartment in Bangor, Co Down. It is understood that Mr Corr and Mr Marks (who lives in Dundalk, Co Louth) bought a total of 97 acres at Barrowmount in 2004 from a local farmer.

Yesterday, Kilkenny Auctioneers, Donohoe Properties confirmed they had “received instructions from the owners” to sell 91 acres of “quality agricultural land with extensive road and river [Barrow] frontage” which has “development potential subject to necessary planning consents”.

Auctioneer Ed Donohoe said the guide price was “in the region of €800,000 to €900,000” and the land would be sold by public auction on November 5th.

However, Mr Corr and Mr Marks are not selling the remaining six-acre parcel of the land which has been rezoned for residential development. Last year, they secured planning permission from Kilkenny County Council to build 19 detached houses on the site. The planning application was submitted by the “MarksCorr Partnership”, with an address at a business park in Swords, Co Dublin. Construction work has yet to begin.