I was locked out of my home but I’m back to stay
THE receivers locked John Ryan Sr out of his unfinished home, closing off the entire ghost estate on which it is located.
But the retired businessman got tired of waiting and broke into his own property last July.
Ever since, he has been using his DIY skills to make the house habitable. Even the fact that it has no electricity or running water did not put him off.
Now the home, in the Ard na Deirge estate in Killaloe, Co. Clare, is almost ready to live in. He hopes the plumbing and electricity will be connected within weeks.
Mr Ryan, from Clonmel, Co. Tipperary, bought the home, which overlooks Lough Derg, for €315,000 in 2006.
But he was locked out of it as the builder did not have the money to finish work.
AIB stepped in, shutting down the estate and placing it in the hands of a receiver.
It meant that Mr Ryan had to break into his own home last July, ignoring security warnings that he was trespassing on private property when he entered the estate.
He has been busy tiling the hallway, kitchen and bathroom as well as installing various fixtures and fittings.
The next step is to get the water running. Fortunately, there are water mains outside the house and Mr Ryan says it is a relatively simple j ob f or a plumber to connect the house to the mains.
He hopes to have that done within a couple of weeks.
Then he needs an electrician to connect the power supply.
He hopes that the house will be fully ready for him to live in by late February or March.
He said: ‘It would be a major achievement to make my house liveable after such a long time.
‘Once the plumbing and the
‘Security seems to ignore me’
electricity are connected, I will be able to move in full time with my wife Breda and son John once two bedrooms and two bathrooms are operational.’
Mr Ryan is also working on a neighbouring house in the estate owned by his son.
He said: ‘It will be much easier to finish off the work needed in John’s house once I can move into my house.
‘John has the timber floors picked out for his kitchen already.
‘I am back and forth to the house carry out works on a regular basis and at this stage the security seems to ignore me I am there so often. Breda and John get security warnings when they visit the site but I think they have given up on me.’
Mr Ryan Jr had his electricity connected in November 2008 and was about to move in a week later but arrived to find the entrance gates had been locked because of the developer’s money troubles.
Mr Ryan Sr is determined to retire to the home in Killaloe. He previously ran a hairdressing franchise in Limerick and Clonmel.
In an interview last July, Mr Ryan Sr explained: ‘Before I broke into my house I went to the local Garda station in Killaloe, told them what I was going to do and showed them that I had title to the house.
‘Neither the bank nor the receiver have been in contact since I moved in and I think that’s interesting.
‘I’m not here to break the law. I’m here to make sure the law works. The banks have become so arrogant that they think they can push little people like me around.’