O'Donnell: Bank pursued 'brutal tactics' at Gorse Hill

Solicitor Brian O’Donnell has told the Court of Appeal that he has a contractual right to stay at the Gorse Hill mansion in South Dublin.

The Killiney property is at the centre of a €70m legal battle between Mr O’Donnell and the Bank of Ireland.

Mr O’Donnell said the bank had pursued "brutal tactics" and that he and his wife had not barricaded themselves into the house.

Solicitor Brian O’Donnell is once again representing himself at the Court of Appeal today - but has been told by Ms Justice Finlay Geoghegan that his wife will have to appear if her appeal is to be heard.

Mr O’Donnell has been setting out his argument against the trespass order granted by Mr Justice Brian McGovern in the High Court. He says he has a contractual right to live at the house - and that the Bank of Ireland has pursued ‘brutal tactics’ in the courts.

He’s told the court that he and his wife’s borrowings are not from BOI but from Bank of Ireland private banking - which he says is a separate entity.

He says the notion that he and his wife were barricaded inside Gorse Hill is not true - that invitees could come and go and that there were no tanks on the lawn.

Mr O’Donnell has also highlighted the media spotlight on the case and said there were three satellite trucks and 64 reporters outside the house when legal papers were nailed to the gate.