John Gilligan's Jessbrook now used as care centre for teens

Auctioneers and members of CAB in the main arena in the Jessbrook Equestrian Centre in  Kildare in 2013. Picture: Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin.

A Co Kildare home seized from convicted drug trafficker John Gilligan by the Criminal Assets Bureau has been turned into a residential unit for teenagers in care.

Jessbrook Equestrian Centre was the subject of a lengthy legal battle between Gilligan and CAB, which lasted almost two decades before it was finally seized by the State and put on the market in 2013.

Convicted drug trafficker John Gilligan.

The property is now called Wimbletown Lodge and is privately owned by the National Children Residential Services which was registered with Alternative Care Inspection and Monitoring Service (ACIMS) on December 28, 2018.

Once registered under the relevant legislation it is subjected to regular and ongoing inspections and reviews by the Child and Family Agency Tusla which also funds the running of the centre.

Tusla said it organises placements at Wimbledown Lodge and between  January 1, 2022 and August 31, 2022 the CFA paid €710,562 to the providers of the centre.

At the height of Gilligan’s criminal career, Jessbrook, which is located in Mucklon Co Kildare, was believed to be valued at €5m.

He had bought the site with the proceeds of crime in 1995 for around €445,000 before spending €1.5m renovating the estate.

John Gilligan's wife, Geraldine.

In November 2012, the Supreme Court ordered that Jessbrook could be sold after a 16-year legal row between the station and Gilligan’s wife, Geraldine.

The bungalow in which Gilligan once lived is now in use for residential care but the land around it was sold separately and renamed Emerald International and refurbished.

Tusla has confirmed it “does not work directly with or provide funding to Emerald Environmental Services”.

Gilligan served a 17-year sentence for drug trafficking.

Appeals

Gilligan and his wife Geraldine made 29 appeals in the courts over the confiscation of their assets, before appealing to the European Court of Human Rights and losing a 26-year battle.

The ECHR’s statement said: “The court was of the view that speeding the proceedings towards a conclusion held little real interest for the applicants. Indeed, their conduct strongly suggested the contrary intention."

It also said the Gilligans engaged in “wrong-headed legal tactics” which seemed designed to frustrate and delay the process.

Jessbrook property is now one of 184 children’s residential centres, comprised of 147 non-statutory and 37 statutory Tusla-run centres.

Residential care

In a statement, the Child and Family Agency Tusla said: “Across Ireland there are a total of 184 children’s residential centres, comprised of 147 non-statutory (private and voluntary & community) and 37 statutory (Tusla run) centres. Of the 147 non-statutory children’s residential centres registered with the ACIMS, 120 are privately run, and the remaining 27 are voluntary and community centres.

“Wimbletown Lodge is a private residential centre which was registered with ACIMS at its current address on 28/12/2018. Tusla organises placements in Wimbletown Lodge as required. Between 1 January 2022 and 31 August 2022, Tusla paid €710,562 to this provider.

“Wimbletown Lodge, located in Mucklon Co. Kildare, previously named Jessbrook, is a residential centre owned and operated by a private provider called National Children Residential Services (NCRS). Once a provider and premises are registered under the relevant legislation, they are subject to regular and ongoing inspections and reviews to ensure that the care being provided is to the highest standard.

“Private care is a feature of most social service areas now including nursing homes, home help services, disability services and therefore it is not unusual to see it in alternative care for children who can’t live at home. Tusla procures private providers to supply residential care on our behalf. However, the agency has been very clear about the need to reduce the reliance on private residential care and our plans in this regard are set out in Tusla’s recently published Strategic Residential Care Plan.”