Developer John Barry declared bankrupt

Cork property developer John Barry has been declared a bankrupt in Britain.

A bankruptcy order was issued in relation to Mr Barry with an address in Barnet in Hertfordshire on 19 October.

The 55-year-old former farmer from Mallow was one of the biggest house builders in the Munster region throughout the boom years.

He set up the Castlelands Construction group in 1988 with his wife Elaine. At its peak, the firm was building in the region of 700 houses a year and employed around 500 people.

However, by 2011 the group had become another victim of the property crash when it went into liquidation.

It had significant borrowings with a number of banks — namely AIB, Bank of Ireland and Anglo Irish Bank. These loans subsequently transferred to Nama.

Castleislands Construction had an extensive property portfolio including developments in Mallow and North Cork, as well as a range of developments in Cork City, Midleton and Kilkenny.

Before its collapse it had also branched out into Britain where it began a 27-storey apartment development in the London docklands district.

Mr Barry hit the headlines in 2004 when it emerged he had bought 180 acres of land in Mallow for €40m — €220,000 an acre. Just eight years later the land was sold back to the people Mr Barry had bought it from — tillage farmer Denis Crowley and Mallow-based farmer/auctioneer John Cronin — by Nama for the knockdown price of €2.25m.

Other parcels of land at Douglas and Ballinrea bought by Mr Barry for sums between €60,000 and €300,000 an acre were also sold on to a farmer by Nama for between €15,000 to €20,000 an acre.

Mr Barry is a well known and respected figure in Mallow and was seen as a key figure in the development of the town.

He made a number of donations and investments in St Joseph’s Boy’s National School, Mallow Rugby Club and the Mallow GAA complex.