Derelict house in Limerick at centre of legal dispute on market a second time

LIMERICK City and County Council has put a property on the market for a  second time after being accused last year of “selling a house out from under a man for €45,000”.

A former parochial house in need of complete refurbishment and a derelict former church set on half an acre at Foxhall West, Colmanswell in south Limerick is up for auction on Wednesday, July 31 at noon. 

It is being sold by GVM Auctioneers, on behalf of the council, with an advised minimum value of €25,000.

The property was entered on the Derelict Sites Register in March 2020 with the council subsequently acquiring it compulsorily.

A meeting of the Cappamore-Kilmallock Municipal District in early 2023 heard that the property had gone sale agreed for a price of €45,000.

Despite notices being erected at the site, the owner of the property claimed he was never contacted directly by the council. The meeting heard that the owner of the house became “very, very ill” around four years ago and left the property to stay with a relative.

Cllr PJ Carey told the meeting last year  that the owner should have been contacted directly regarding the council acquiring it.

A council employee said the process was completed fully in line with the legislation and it is the owner’s responsibility to deal with dereliction.

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Cllr Eddie Ryan said: “The council sold a house out from under a man for €45,000.”

Cllr Carey contacted barrister Liam Carroll, who secured a High Court injunction to stop the council selling the property.  

Subsequently, the barrister, instructed by solicitor Daniel Krieth, initiated judicial review proceedings in the High Court. It is understood that matters were settled between the council and the original owner who received a substantial sum for his property, as well as his legal costs. The sale to the other party  never went through.

Cllr Carey said he has spoken to the former owner ahead of the house and church being up for auction next month.

“He is heartbroken but accepts he would be unable to do it up and he has gotten some relief from the fact that he has been compensated,” said Cllr Carey.

Cllr Carey said the Derelict Sites Act is legislation that gives the local authority powers which they “should be using with the extremist caution and only in appropriate cases”.  The  council did not respond to a query  asking if they would like to  comment.