A retired nurse who died two years ago left more than £273,000 to be used for neutering and spaying cats and dogs in the Sligo area, the High Court heard yesterday.
But only a small portion of the donation from Miss Annie Finnegan to her local branch of the Irish Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals would be used up if applied strictly for those purposes, Mr Brian Speirin said.
Ms Justice Carroll granted an application by Mr Speirin to appoint trustees to the fund and set up a scheme for its administration. The scheme includes terms for the provision of an animal welfare shelter.
Miss Finnegan, of Upperwood, Grange, Co Sligo, died on December 18th, 1996, at St Phelim's Nursing Home, Dromahair, Co Leitrim. In her will she left small sums for Masses; £5,000 to a donkey sanctuary in Co Cork; £3,000 to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals; £500 each to a number of cousins; £10,000 to a local woman; and her dwelling to a neighbour.
Miss Finnegan instructed that her farm at Upperwood, Grange, and her farm at Edenreagh, Cliffoney, be sold by private treaty.
She bequeathed the proceeds of that sale and any other possessions she had to Ms Olive McKinley, Bumblewood House, Ballinacarrow, in her capacity as secretary of the local ISPCA for the purpose of neutering and spaying cats and dogs.
In an affidavit, Mr Patrick McMorrow, solicitor and executor of the will, said Ms McKinley accepted that the bequest was of a charitable nature and that no beneficial interest in the fund created by the sale of the farms and other assets was intended to pass to her.
The ISPCA accepted that the fund created was intended for the benefit of the society in Sligo. But he was advised that the terms, if strictly adhered to, would not provide a suitable and effective method of using the funds.
Mr McMorrow said he was advised that it was necessary to have a scheme approved by the court for the administration of the fund. There were no trustees of the fund appointed by the will and it was necessary to appoint trustees to administer it. Three persons had agreed to act as trustees.
Dr Dorasami Raman, a consultant rheumatologist, of Ballinacar, Co Sligo, who is chairman of the ISPCA in Sligo, said that in order to give effect to the intention of Miss Finnegan, it was proposed to set up an animal shelter in the area. This would provide facilities for the neutering and spaying of cats. It would be necessary to have the animals collected and afford them adequate veterinary attention.
In many cases, it would be necessary for the animals to be housed preoperatively and brought up to a certain standard of health to enable them to withstand any surgical intervention. It would also be necessary to house the animals post-operatively.
Under the scheme approved by the court, the three trustees will be Dr Raman, Ms McKinley and Mrs Robina Lyons, Streamstown, Ballisodare. The trust will be known as the Annie Finnegan Animal Shelter Trust.
Mr Seamus Noonan, for the Attorney General, consented to the scheme.