Couple face jail for alleged interference with receiver

A farmer, his wife, and several other people, including anti-eviction activist Ben Gilroy, are facing jail over alleged interference with a receiver appointed over lands in Co Kildare.

Paul O’Shea spent just over two weeks in jail when he was previously found in contempt of court orders restraining interference with receiver George Maloney’s attempts to sell lands owned by Mr O’Shea at his home at Davidstown, Castledermot.

Mr O’Shea was released by a High Court judge earlier this month after giving a sworn undertaking to purge his contempt and comply with court orders. The matter was adjourned on certain conditions in an effort to progress matters.

When the matter returned before Mr Justice Paul Gilligan yesterday, lawyers for Mr Maloney said there was ongoing interference with the receivership.

In an affidavit, Mr Maloney said he and his agents has been intimidated, verbally abused, threatened with violence and put under surveillance when on the land. During recent visits, an unidentified person had asked him if he “felt safe” on the fields and described him as a “brave man”, he said. On another occasion, he was told by another person he would be “buried in the field”.

The receiver said that, due to the interference, he intends to seek the attachment and committal to prison of Mr O’Shea, his wife Emer, and several others including Mr Gilroy, who, he said, were present and giving advice to those preventing him carrying out his duties.

Ms O’Shea had taken a prominent and active part in leading the resistance to his efforts to secure possession of the property, he said.

Mr Maloney said Mr O’Shea and Mr Gilroy are “toying” with the court. There was now a level of “lawlessness and connivance” which was “out of control”, the court orders were not working, and the proposed sale of the land was at risk, said Mr Maloney.

Matters were not being helped by constant inaccurate briefings given by Mr O’Shea’s supporters to local community leaders which lead to a “wildly misleading” statement from Mattie McGrath TD on social media, repeated in “more incendiary” terms in the Dail, he said. He had had to meet with TDs in Kildare to ensure they were informed of the facts of the situation and orders of the court.

Mr O’Shea said the receiver’s most recent presence on the land was an attempt to “antagonise him.”

Mr Justice Gilligan granted John Gleeson, counsel for Mr Maloney, permission to bring motions seeking to have the O’Sheas, Mr Gilroy, and others yet to be identified brought before the court for alleged contempt and adjourned the matter to next week.

Mr Maloney was appointed in September 2012 by Danske Bank as receiver over two large fields totalling 31 hectares owned by Mr O’Shea, which were put up as security on a 2003 loan which went into default. In March 2013, the bank obtained judgment for €1.29m against Mr O’Shea.

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