The son at the centre of a bitter family dispute over the development of a mews site which now houses a top Dublin restaurant has told the High Court that his elderly mother had signed over a 99-year lease for the property to him as part of his inheritance.
In evidence at the resumption of legal proceedings before Mr Justice Thomas Smyth, Arthur ffrench O'Carroll said his mother, Renée ffrench O'Carroll, "was giving me this [the lease] as my inheritance.
"She said 'When I die, you're not going to get anything else'," he said.
Under cross-examination, he also said that his mother had said she would change her will as a result of the lease being drawn up.
Ms ffrench O'Carroll, a mother of five, has claimed Arthur had exerted undue influence on her in getting her to sign a lease in connection with the mews premises.
Mr ffrench-O'Carroll, Wellington Place, Clyde Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin, has denied his mother's claims regarding a 99- year lease of April 19th, 1989, assigning to him the mews premises at Pembroke Lane.
The original mews building was demolished in 1998 and a new building constructed, from which the Diep Le Shaker restaurant now operates.
He has appealed to the High Court against a Circuit Court decision last year which found the signing by Ms ffrench O'Carroll of the disputed lease was procured by undue influence and the lease was therefore null and void.
Under the 1989 agreement for the lease, Ms ffrench O'Carroll was to receive £500 per annum from her son.
When asked yesterday by Brian Dempsey SC, for Ms ffrench O'Carroll, whether he thought this figure was fair compared to market value, Mr ffrench O'Carroll said: "My mother was very happy because she was getting a good deal. I was keeping her other properties going. It was part of my inheritance."
He added: "Our relationship was good, we were meeting up every other day. If I stopped managing her properties then I would have to start paying rent."
When Mr Dempsey suggested that his client never intended to let the property out of the family and that it was not part of his inheritance, Mr ffrench O'Carroll said: "No, she said she was giving me the lease to protect the rest of the family from getting it."
The hearing continues today.