I was victim of vampire-like demands, claims Byrne

SOLICITOR Thomas Byrne has claimed before the Commercial Court he was the victim of “vampire-like demands for capital” by property developer John Kelly over a 10-year period but never received any profits from several ventures in which both men were involved.

Mr Kelly had warned that if Mr Byrne didn’t put up money, the “house of cards would come crashing down” and Mr Byrne would be “the first victim”, Mr Byrne said. When Mr Kelly reached his own ceiling of borrowing, he had introduced Mr Byrne to banks to get loans and would frequently say the next big deal “would sort everything out”.

Mr Kelly would often say that, while he didn’t “want to sound like Del Boy, this is our year, we are so close, next year we will be multi-millionaires,” Mr Byrne said.