Bank can recover Ballsbridge home from couple who haven't paid rent or mortgage in 16 years

Ray Managh

Bank of Ireland Mortgage Bank can now proceed to take possession of a Ballsbridge home on which a couple have not paid a penny off their €2.3 million debt in 16 years of living rent and mortgage free.

Barrister Micheal O’Connell SC, told the Circuit Civil Court that the last €1,463 mortgage repayment Richard Farrington and his wife, Audrey, had paid on their Heytesbury Lane home was in November 2009.

Judge Roderick Maguire on Wednesday directed that the bank may press ahead with executing a possession order made against the couple in 2011 by Judge Jacqueline Linnane. Judge Maguire’s order means the bank can now send in the Sheriff to take possession of the Farrington home.

Mr O’Connell, who appeared with Michael O’Sullivan BL and Emma Morrison of Whitney Moore Solicitors for the bank, told the court that the bank had been around the block for a long time with Mr Farrington who, since 2011, had made multiple applications as high as the Court of Appeal, frustrating the bank in recovering the property.

Judge Maguire granted Farrington a stay on his order of legal costs in favour of the bank to facilitate consideration of another appeal to the High Court. The judge, however, specifically stated the stay applied only to costs and not to his order to execute the 2011 possession order.

Farrington again fought the bank on Wednesday on its application for a final order and told Judge Maguire that he was representing only himself and not his wife. When the court registrar called if there was any appearance by or on behalf of Audrey Farrington there was silence.

The court was told the couple had not paid a penny off their mortgage, yet continued to live in their home at 78 Heytesbury Lane, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4.

When Farrington objected to the bank getting its costs, Judge Maguire said he had not shown the court any reason why the bank should not be awarded its costs.