A WIDOWER with three adult sons barricaded himself into his home yesterday but was evicted by the Cork County sheriff with the help of three hooded men. Gardai were also present.
The eviction resulted from a business venture that went wrong six years ago when, Mr Patrick O'Reilly claims, he signed agreements unwittingly that led to debt.
The eviction from the dormer bungalow and seven acres of land outside Blarney, Co Cork, did not go ahead as expected last week but was completed within an hour yesterday, despite one of Mr O'Reilly's son's threatening to hang himself. The sheriff's office and solicitor for the creditor, Mr Patrick Daly, would not comment afterwards.
The party, with a locksmith and gardai, arrived at the property before 9 a.m. yesterday. Mr O'Reilly was taken by surprise as he had almost completed arrangements to pay the money demanded. "This is not the end of the matter, I intend to eight on."
His son, Paul (26), said he did not intend to hang himself but wished to make the point that the house was his home and he did not want to leave. He was carried downstairs and outside with brothers, Noel (18) and Liam (22).
Mr O'Reilly spent nine days in Cork jail for contempt of court earlier this year and claimed he should not have forfeited his property for debts he claims he did not incur. He admits he signed an agreement for taking responsibility for a fish farm company established on his lands with Mr Patrick Daly after the business had failed and agreed to pay him £20,000.
A court order was given against, Mr O'Reilly to Mr Daly of Marion Park, Dublin Hill, Cork, for £20,000 five years ago. Interest and costs mean he now owes abort £45,000. His home was valued at about £100,000.
Mistakes had been made in relation to his case, Mr O'Reilly said yesterday. While the courts wanted to enforce the law, they were depriving him of justice. He would continue to fight his case.
Both men set up a salmon hatchery with smolt from Killary Salmon, Rossaveal, Co Galway, in 1987. While a partnership agreement had been written out, said Mr O'Reilly, it had not been signed and he did not know that's Mr Daly had set up a limited company. Mr Daly provided the funding for the farm while he provided the site on the River Shournagh outside Blarney.
But many of the 300,000 fish died shortly after hatching because the tanks to which they were to be transferred were not ready in time. Some time later, Mr Daly lodged a claim for £20,000 in court but he was late getting to court on January 9th, 1990, and the order was made against him.
"I was advised Mr Daly would get an order for possession of my home if I did not sign the agreement to pay him £20,000 and costs and take over the company. My wife had died just a short time before I was trying to look after my three young boys. I was on social welfare at the time and did not have any money but it was explained to me that I could go into court again and fight it, so I signed," he said.
Last year, he lodged complaints against four solicitors involved in the transactions with the Law Society, which agreed there was a case to be heard against the solicitors. In June this year, the society cleared them of malpractice.