Carrickminders Win One in the Supreme Court!!

national | miscellaneous | news report

Monday February 24, 2003 20:06

by redJaDe

YES!!!!!! (photos coming soon)

Carrickminders Press Release

24 February 2003

http://CarrickminesCastle.org

The Supreme Court this morning granted an interlocutory injunction restraining Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council (“DLRCC”) and its agents from demolishing or removing or disfiguring, defacing, altering or in any manner injuring or interfering with the national monument and/or archaeological remains situated at the site of Carrickmines Castle without a valid consent under section 14 of the National Monuments Act, 1930 (as amended) pending a full trial in the High Court of all issues raised by the applicants. The application for the injunction was made on behalf of Dominic Dunne and Gordon Lucas by Frank Callanan, SC and Colm MacEochaidh, BL instructed by Philip Lee Solicitors.

The substantive issues raised by the Messrs. Dunne and Lucas will now fall to be determined by the High Court, with no works being carried out on the site in the meantime. No date for that hearing has been fixed. It is unlikely to take place until late March/early April at the earliest. The Supreme Court however directed that the applicants lodge their Statement of Claim, setting out the basis of their legal case, within the next seven days. In turn, DLRCC must reply to that document by means of the lodging of a formal defence, within a further seven days. Following completion of a process of disclosure of documents the parties will then be in a position to apply to the High Court for a hearing date.

The issues to be determined by the High Court will include the following key questions:

- Does the Carrickmines Castle site come within the definition of a “national monument” set out in the National Monuments Acts, 1930-1994?

- Is DLRCC required, under section 14 of the National Monuments Act, 1930, as amended, to obtain a joint consent in writing before it carries out works at the Carrickmines Castle site?

On the basis of the evidence put before it at this preliminary stage, the Supreme Court answered both questions in the affirmative. It will now be a matter for the High Court to hear more fulsome evidence, including oral evidence from expert witnesses, to determine these questions.

The Supreme Court found that DLRCC had failed to show sufficient evidence to support its claim that it would incur significant financial loss if the injunction was granted. In addition, the Court rejected the assertion made by DLRCC that the applicants had been guilty of inordinate delay in bringing its case to Court, finding instead that DLRCC had failed to respond in detail to a letter sent to it by Philip Lee Solicitors on 30 September 2002 in which DLRCC were requested to confirm whether the necessary joint consent in writing had in fact been obtained.

The next steps in the legal process involve the parties’ legal teams finalising their legal papers. At trial, Messrs. Dunne and Lucas will call on expert evidence in order to establish the status of the Carrickmines Castle site under the National Monuments Acts. Dr. Sean Duffy of Trinity College Dublin has already given evidence on affidavit on behalf of Messrs. Dunne and Lucas. It is anticipated that further experts in the field of archaeology and medieval history will now be called upon to give oral evidence on this point. It is likely that archaeologists involved in the excavation of the site to date will also be called upon to give evidence.

It should be noted that Messrs. Dunne and Lucas issued legal proceedings very much as a last resort and following the refusal of DLRCC to engage in any form of discussion regarding proposals forwarded to DLRCC by the ‘Friends of Carrickmines’ campaign. Those proposals had in fact been requested by DLRCC following a meeting earlier this year between Eamonn O’Hare, DLRCC’s Director of Transport, Dr. Sean Duffy of the ‘Friends of Carrickmines’ campaign and Vincent Salafia of the ‘Carrickminders’ group.

Dominic Dunne and Gordon Lucas would like to thank everyone involved with the ‘Carrickminders’ and ‘Friends of Carrickmines’ for their support. Your continued support will be crucial in the coming weeks and in the run up to the next hearing before the High Court when the fate of the site will ultimately be decided on.

Press Contact - Gordon Lucas 087 962 7243