The previous land war that led to ‘raised fists’ and a €2m ‘buyout’
THE long-running legal wrangle between Pat Kenny and his previous next-door neighbours began in 2006 and simmered for two years, finally coming to an end in the High Court in 2008
During the case, then retired solicitor Gerard Charlton, aged 73, claimed he was the owner of a 0.2acre strip of land at the centre of the dispute, and even claimed Mr Kenny jostled and barred him from entering the property.
Eoghan Fitzsimons SC for the Charltons told the High Court that in July 2006 Mr Charlton made unsuccessful efforts to get a code from Mr Kenny for an electronic gate leading to the land.
The court heard Mr Charlton, accompanied by his son-in-law, then visited Mr Kenny to discuss the matter on July 27.
Mr Fitzsimons said what followed was a very acrimonious meeting.
The court was told that at the
meeting Mr Kenny asked Mr Charlton what his agenda was.
Mr Charlton replied it was none of Mr Kenny’s business.
The court was told that upon leaving, Mr Charlton tried to climb the steps to Gorse Hill and Mr Kenny ran up the steps to bar his way, ‘with his fists raised’, telling him he was not going in.
The court heard that Mr Kenny, then aged 60, had made a number of ‘outrageous’ remarks.
Mr Kenny was also accused of using concerns about the safety of his two daughters as ‘weapons’ in the dispute by linking them to incidents in which the TV star was targeted both at his home and at work.
In the long-running dispute, Mr Charlton and his wife Maeve claimed they owned the property, and sought a High Court declaration stating they were the rightful owners of Gorse Hill.
The case prompted a plea for common sense to prevail from presiding judge Maureen Harding Clark and after some mediation, Pat and his wife agreed to purchase the contentious plot.
Although the sum the Kennys agreed to pay their neighbours was kept under wraps at the time, lawyers for the Kennys’ neighbours have previously claimed the land was worth up to €2million.
After they settled the case, Mr Kenny said: ‘Gorse Hill has provided our family and, in particular, our children, with security and privacy for the last 17 years. It’s been maintained as a wildlife sanctuary by us during that time. Following the settlement brokered by the mediator, we are delighted Gorse Hill will continue to be just that, a wildlife sanctuary. Above all, we wish that our children can return to the normal life that they enjoyed before this dispute began. The entire episode has been deeply distressing to us and, more than anything, we want to put it behind us.’