Solicitor who charged bereaved child €344k in fees faces 35 complaints
Couple have huge property portfolio ... and links to FF
A HIGHLY respected solicitor who charged a widow with three children and a bereaved child astonishing fees now faces complaints from as many as 35 other clients.
Declan O’Callaghan, whose wife was Honorary Treasurer of local Fianna Fáil until her unexpected resignation two weeks ago, has been placed under supervision by the solicitors’ governing body, the Law Society.
Last week it emerged he charged a widow with three children €101,000 in fees for handling an estate worth €396,000. The money was withdrawn in 39 separate instalments between August and November of last year.
She came forward after reading court reports on how Mr O’Callaghan had repaid €344,000 in fees and VAT to a child bequeathed an estate worth €454,000.
After meeting the solicitor two weeks ago
‘People upset as he came to serve Communion’
the widow’s fees were cut to just €28,000, a fifth of the original charge. It is believed that as many as 35 other clients of the Ballaghaderreen Co. Roscommon-based solicitor are considering lodging complaints with the Law Society of Ireland. Many of these are expected to centre on how personal injury lump sum pay-outs and cash bequeathed in wills were handled. The Law Society has also gone to court to have the 59-year-old suspended, as it carries out an investigation.
A family friend said: ‘A solicitor has come in to supervise Mr O’Callaghan but it seems that it has not hit him yet. He is in complete denial about what is happening and some staff have already left.
‘People were really upset when he turned up at Mass last weekend to serve Holy Communion. The Law Society would normally be a couple of days but they have been with him for almost two months.’
A source familiar with the case said: ‘As many as 35 other people have worries and as far as I know they will be making complaints. But the worry is that these may be only the opening of the wound. People are worried that the fund the Society has to underwrite solicitors may be wiped out.’
Despite twice contacting Mr O’Callaghan’s legal firm at Pound Street in Ballaghaderreen on Friday no one was prepared to provide a response. A woman who answered the phone was also not in a position to provide an email address so the Irish Mail on Sunday could forward a list of questions. Meanwhile, a detailed text message sent to the solicitor’s wife Mary Devine O’Callaghan – who has been listed online as office manager – was not answered.
The 59-year-old businesswoman is a prominent Fianna Fáil activist in her native Roscommon. And in addition to holding the position of Director of Elections in her local constituency, she also held the position of Honorary Treasurer until two weeks ago. Two of the couple’s daughters, Aoife and Eimear, have also worked at the family legal firm. No complaints were made against family members other than Mr O’Callaghan.
He and his wife acquired their first home together in 1988. And since then they have enjoyed a luxurious lifestyle and built an extensive property portfolio that includes their impressive home on the outskirts of Ballaghaderreen, an apartment and car parking space on Arran Quay, in Dublin city, a holiday home on Mayo’s picturesque Achill Island, and an impressive office building in Ballaghaderreen from where Mr O’Callaghan operates his legal practice.
The couple are the registered owners of 13 separate properties and plots of land in Roscommon, Mayo and Dublin. And it is also believed they have invested in property overseas. However, according to documents lodged with the national property ownership registrar, they have repeatedly re-mortgaged their properties with eight separate mortgages alone on their home at Kilcolman in Ballaghaderreen.