End of the line for unauthorised Meath house as demolition finally gets under way
The Murray’s mounted series of appeals keep the 6,220 sq ft home after ‘wilful breach’ of planning laws. Picture: Barry Cronin/The Irish Times.
The word came through at 11am — demolition had begun.
In truth, the process was a lot less dramatic than it sounds. The site of the infamous 500-plus square metre house near Tankardstown on the western border of Co Meath remained mostly unchanged, bar the hum of generators powering CCTV on the premises.
At the entrance to the massive landscaped property the top of one of the gateposts lay in rubble on the floor, a sign that a vehicle too large for the driveway had recently made its way through.
In a field next door, a cluster of road-side lantern lamps lay stacked on top of one another, a reminder that the clearing of the property had happened at pace.
The house belongs, or belonged, to plumber Chris Murray and his wife Rose, who constructed it in 2006 without planning permission. The property has been the centre of a legal battle with Meath County Council ever since, one the Murrays have been slowly losing for years.
Thursday was d-day, the d being demolition. In practice, that meant that some of the windows at the house had been broken, indicating that the process was at last under way.
Little else was expected to happen on Thursday, a gloriously sunny day, bar perhaps the removal of some windows and doors, some of which had clearly been achieved as afternoon gave way to evening. Cutting the utilities, particularly electricity, was a crucial step as evidenced by the arrival of a convoy of ESB vans after 1pm.
Before 10am a never-ending procession of vehicles had come and gone from the driveway, transporting possessions out of the house. Most of what was not nailed down had been removed by the time the gardaí called a halt just after the hour.
Thereafter, masked individuals from the relevant security and repossession firms arrived and made themselves at home.
There was to be no further access to the property. All remained quiet on the idyllic country laneway, the murmur of birdsong and the nearby M3 motorway the only things breaking the silence.
A brief altercation between one neighbour and a member of the public showed the undercurrent of distress in the locality, however, with the lady in question making abundantly clear the negative effect the saga was having on those still living on the lane.
Speaking on RTÉ radio, Rose Murray said she did not know what was going to happen to the house but she hoped it would not be demolished and could be given to charity.
Ms Murray said that there is an arrest warrant out for her because she is in contempt of court. She said she had to leave the country and leave her family at home "to deal with this".
"I'm planning on returning when the warrant for my arrest is lifted because this is an absolute disgrace."
As the day wound on one last legal throw of the dice remained for the Murrays, with a last-minute application for a stay on the demolition being heard at the High Court.
As the same time the ESB arrived at their property, solicitor for the Murrays Neil McNelis was arguing before Justice Richard Humphreys that the house should remain intact to allow for the couple’s application to the European Court of Human Rights — alleging that in removing their home the local authority would be infringing said rights — to work its way through the process.
Mr McNelis said the move to action the demolition by the council had come as “a complete shock” to the Murray family, adding that his clients — whose whereabouts he himself did not know — were “extremely frightened” by the direction the process had taken, with suggestions that the issue could become one of criminal contempt.
“My clients have lost their house, they’re evicted. Their sons and daughters are evicted. They’ve lost everything. They have been punished enough,” Mr McNelis said .
He said that to pull down the house would lead to “irreparable harm” being done, a “disaster” which could further lead to an issue of damages should the European court eventually rule in the Murray's favour.
“To have them do the walk of shame in front of the media, maybe that’s what Meath County Council want,” he said, adding that he believed that “public opinion would support me in relation to that”.
Whether or not that was the case, Justice Humphreys wasn’t inclined to stay the demolition, noting that “the orders are there and remain there until they’re discharged”.
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