Artist and interior decorator Mr James Yates was reinstated by the High Court yesterday as a member of the Royal Dublin Society but resigned immediately in court. He was found to be guilty of acts of nuisance.
Mr Justice Shanley had earlier, in a reserved judgment, said that, in the light of his finding that Mr Yates was guilty of acts of nuisance, he did not propose to allow him to enjoy such membership.
The judge made orders restraining Mr Yates from attending or entering the society's exhibition grounds or from communicating or attempting to communicate with its staff. However, Mr Justice Shanley held that the society had breached natural justice when it decided to expel Mr Yates on December 1st, 1994, and that resolution must be set aside.
The society had claimed that Mr Yates, of Cill Cais, Old Bawn, Co Dublin, had intimidated and harassed staff members, particularly the society's exhibitions officer, Ms Olivia O'Reilly. When, at the end of yesterday's judgment, Mr Peter Charleton SC, for the RDS, asked for costs, Mr Justice Shanley said that a significant number of the society's claims had failed in relation to trespass and intimidation.
A significant part of Mr Yates's claim had succeeded; the main thrust of his claim was that he was still a society member and that if he succeeded in such a claim he wished to resign. The society had strongly resisted that claim. Mr Justice Shanley said he would make no order as to costs.
The judge gave a history of the dispute between the parties. Following problems when Mr Yates was an exhibitor, he began writing letters to Ms O'Reilly critical of her work. Mr Yates decided on learning of her birthday to send her a rose with a poem. Mr Justice Shanley said he was satisfied Ms O'Reilly was genuinely upset by this. The judge said that while making serious allegations against Ms O'Reilly and another RDS employee in that same correspondence, Mr Yates was nonetheless protesting his affection for Ms O'Reilly, while in prose and poem he was also suggesting she was cold, uncaring and mentally unwell. Mr Justice Shanley gave examples of what he described as Mr Yates's "scatter-gun approach". In a letter to Ms O'Reilly's parents he indicated "your daughter is obviously very ill"; in another letter to Ms O'Reilly's father he said: "My only sin is I happened to fall for your daughter."