Will saga nears end
The farm at Inch, Dromstrasna, Abbeyfeale, belongs to the Hartnett family, and the sale is part of a High Court order, following settlement of an action taken by Mrs Hartnett in late 2003.
Marie Hartnett contested her late husband’s will, which left half of his estate to his brother’s three children, and the remaining half to her.
The High Court hearing in December 2003 heard Mrs Hartnett’s evidence that she had to pay her mother-in-law £400 when she married John Hartnett, then 41, in November 1967. She was 29. The couple never had children.
Mr Hartnett’s estate included a 49-acre farm and house estimated to be worth £225,000 to £250,000 at the time, and the settlement provided for a sum of €38,000 to be paid in recognition of her £400 investment, over and above her share of the estate. The sale of the farm was pursuant on the agreed settlement, with Mrs Hartnett vacating the premises by April 30th 2004.
Since then, the property had been offered for sale, but was withdrawn at auction last year (when it reached €350,000). It is expected it should make in excess of that amount at auction on July 7, but auctioneer, Pat O’Donovan was unwilling to be drawn on the selling price, as that would have to be agreed by both parties.
The farm comprises a 49-acre holding, on both sides of the main Limerick to Killarney Road, near Abbeyfeale. All in pasture, the lands are bounded by the Allaghaun river, and will be auctioned in two lots of 13 and 36 acres in the Courtney Lodge Hotel, Newcastlewest.
