RTÉ broadcaster Pat Kenny is claiming squatter's rights over a piece of land adjoining his home in Dalkey, the High Court heard yesterday.
Mr Kenny is resisting an application by his neighbour for an order for inspection of the disputed land and claims it is part of his garden.
Mr Justice Frank Clarke was told Mr Kenny and his wife, Kathy, are claiming to have acquired a beneficial interest in the rocky outcrop of land known as Gorse Hill, which has an estimated value of €1 million.
The land in question is at the centre of a bitter dispute between Mr Kenny and his neighbour, retired solicitor Gerard Charlton, who contends the Gorse Hill land is his property.
In a counter-claim, Mr Kenny is claiming he had locked the property from public access 16 years ago and that it has been inaccessible since then except by scaling a cliff.
The Kennys are claiming they have title to the property on the basis of adverse possession in excess of 12 years. They claim that, from 1991 to July last year, the Charltons had not entered on to the Gorse Hill property and that the Charltons' rights to the land were destroyed in 2003 due to adverse possession.
Eileen Barrington BL, for Mr Charlton, said her client rejects the assertion by the Kennys that they have squatters' title.
The proceedings by Mr Charlton against the Kennys came before Mr Justice Frank Clarke yesterday via Mr Charlton's application for an order for inspection of the property prior to the full hearing. The Kennys say they will be prejudiced if such an order is granted.
Mr Charlton (72), Maple Tree House, Harbour Road, Dalkey, claims he and his wife, Maeve, acquired a leasehold interest in his Harbour Road property in 1971. That property included his home, Maple Tree House, the lands previously known as the Quarry Field, and a small plot of land adjoining the Quarry Field - the Gorse Hill property.
At all material times since 1971, he and his wife had been entitled to the legal and beneficial leasehold, and subsequently the freehold, interest in the Gorse Hill property, Mr Charlton claims.
When the Kennys bought the adjoining lands, the Anchorage, in 1988, Pat Kenny and his wife were given a copy of the 1971 lease and were therefore aware at all times of Mr Charlton's ownership of the Gorse Hill property, he claims. He says he permitted the Kennys to use the lands.
Mr Charlton claims Kenny asked him a number of times to sell the lands to him. He claims he agreed to permit Mr Kenny to replace a pedestrian gate at the entrance to the Gorse Hill lands. However, he claims, Mr Kenny subsequently refused to give him the code for a digital keypad installed at the new electronic gate and had also sought, on July 27th, 2006, to prevent Mr Charlton from gaining access to Gorse Hill.
Yesterday, Ms Barrington said that, in their counter-claim to Mr Charlton's action, the Kennys allege they have acquired a beneficial interest in the property and have carried out works including fencing, gardening works, compost heaps and lighting. The Kennys were also seeking damages for alleged trespass.
Mr Justice Clarke said he would reserve judgment to September 7th next on whether there should be an inspection.