AN elderly Co Mayo farmer who evicted his two grandchildren from their home after the death of their mother was ordered to vacate the house at Galway Circuit Court yesterday.
The court heard the occupants of the house, Mr David and Ms Susan Jennings, got a solicitor's letter instructing them to vacate the house a day after the funeral of their mother, who died on January 25th last.
Gardai were called to the scene in the village of Cong, Co Galway, after their grandfather, Mr Paddy Cummins, of Cross, Co Mayo, and his sons Michael and Patrick, had broken into the £70,000 semi detached house and barricaded themselves inside.
Mr Cummins occupied the house two weeks after Ms Margaret Jennings, the mother of David (21), and his 23 year old sister, had been buried following her death from cancer.
In an ex parte application, Mr John Jordan (for the children and their father, Mr John Jennings) sought an interim injunction directing Mr Cummins and his sons to vacate the house.
He asked they be restrained from interfering with the plaintiffs and the house contents, and from damaging the property.
The court was told that Mr Cummins offered the then derelict house to his daughter and son in law as a gift in 1977. They moved into the house the following year after carrying out extensive renovations.
Their marriage broke up in 1990 and Mr Jennings eventually moved out of the house, leaving Mrs Jennings with her two children.
On January 28th last, the children got a letter from Mr Cummins's solicitor instructing them to leave. They could not believe what was happening. They always believed their parents had owned the house.
In an affidavit, Mr David Jennings said it was difficult to put into words his "sadness and consternation" when the letter arrived. He and his sister, who was eight months pregnant, had been staying with friends since the house was occupied last Friday.
Judge Esmond Smyth said: "Whatever the case may be, and there are always two sides, there is no doubt that the defendants acted in an arbitrary way and, on a prima facie basis, they acted entirely illegally by evicting or dispossessing the plaintiffs without a proper hearing."
He made an order directing Mr Cummins to give up the keys of the house and he returned the matter to Galway Circuit Court next Tuesday.