A Cork-based wedding planner has described claims that he owed couples more than €250,000 as "insane", "ludicrous" and "completely untrue".
Paul Mayfair, who runs a number of wedding-related companies, said that he was planning to sue RTÉ and the Daily Ireland newspaper for broadcasting and printing the allegations yesterday.
The claims were first made in Daily Ireland yesterday by Father Joseph Ryan, a Catholic priest who runs a ministry in Clare marrying separated or divorced Catholics.
Father Ryan said he had heard from 130 clients or service providers of Mr Mayfair who were unhappy with him. He claimed that couples gave Mr Mayfair money for various services, such as catering, music or flowers, but later discovered the businesses had not been paid.
He said that the money due to the 130 people totalled €250,000, adding: "But I don't even know if this is the tip of the iceberg."
Yesterday, RTÉ Radio's Liveline programme carried interviews with a number of businesses which claimed they had had difficulty in getting paid by Mr Mayfair. They included florists, a DJ and a wedding-website operator.
Mr Mayfair said it was ridiculous to say that he owed money to 130 people, as he had only organised about 60 weddings since he bought the Dream Wedding Ireland company three years ago. He also runs Dream Wedding Packages and Event Reality Ltd.
"I don't deny that the company [Event Reality] has had financial problems," Mr Mayfair told The Irish Times yesterday, adding that he had sent a letter to suppliers explaining this. He said that he owed €42,000 and "we are trying to commute that bill".
The financial problems had built up over some time and, while it was serious, it was not a crime to have a financial problem, Mr Mayfair said. He believed the complaints probably originated from one couple who were unhappy that he charged the vendors a commission when he arranged their wedding.
He said that his real name was Paul McCarthy and he had changed it to Mayfair for business reasons. He described as "ludicrous" claims by Father Ryan that he called himself a lord and a viscount and claimed to be related to the queen. His Dream Wedding website says he liaised with the private secretaries for most of the royal family "on a daily basis" when he organised conferences and banquets in London.
Father Ryan said he was lodging complaints about Mr Mayfair with the revenue authorities in Ireland and the UK and was sending a complaint to the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement. He said any couples owed money by Mr Mayfair should make a statement to a garda or a solicitor.
