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SEPARATE RULINGS HAVE gone against John Magnier in his plans for land developments in Co Tipperary.
The Coolmore Stud owner has lost his case to buy the coveted Barne Estate, near Clonmel, after a High Court judge concluded that a sale for the land had not taken place as claimed.
Magnier had wanted the court to enforce a €15-million ‘handshake deal’ he claimed he had sealed at his home on 22 August 2023 with Richard Thomson-Moore, an heir to the 751-acre, 17th Century estate.
In a separate case, the State planning authority An Coimisiún Pleanála has upheld an appeal against Magnier’s plans to demolish historic farm buildings at Parkville in Clonmel, following a year-long campaign by locals opposed to their destruction.
The horse racing magnate had purchased the farm at auction last year for €2.425m, or almost €38,000 per acre.
The Magnier side sued the Barne Estate, Thomson-Moore and three companies of IQEQ (Jersey) Ltd group – the estate trustees – seeking to enforce the purported deal.
But the Barne defendants had maintained there was never any such agreement, as they needed the consent of the trustees to finalise any deal.
They subsequently preferred to sell the estate to construction magnate Maurice Regan for €22.25 million.
In his judgement, released today, Mr Justice Max Barrett found that there was “no mutual intention to create legal relations” around the sale of the estate.
He also found that material terms for a deal “remained unsettled” and that no person present had authority to bind the Barne defendants to a sale.
The judge agreed that any putative agreement was “at all times” contingent upon approval from the estate’s trustees.
The failure of Magnier’s case on “any one of these grounds would be fatal”, the Mr Justice Barrett continued, before adding: “I have found against them on all of these grounds.”
He said he was satisfied that there was “no meeting of minds” as any binding option agreement to a sale.
In reaching his conclusions, the judge said had given particular weight to the reliability of contemporaneous documentary evidence over what he said were “inconsistent” accounts advanced by Magnier’s side.
In a statement this afternoon, a spokesperson for Magnier said that the plaintiffs were disappointed with the outcome of the High Court case.
“We took this case on principled grounds and though we have the utmost respect for the Court we are disappointed that a deal which we believe was agreed over two years ago has not been upheld,” the spokesperson said.
“We engaged in this process in good faith and wish all parties to this litigation well for the future.”
The spokesperson added that “full consideration” would be given to today’s judgment and so they will not be commenting further at this time.
Separately, a company connected to Magnier’s Coolmore Stud, Melclon Unlimited, subsequently applied to demolish a derelict building complex that has stood on the farm for hundreds of years and return the land to pasture, citing health and safety concerns.
As well as his better known Coolmore Stud, Magnier has tillage farms across south Tipperary.
Sources with knowledge of Magnier’s operation have outlined previously that, given the large size of machinery used for the farm, older paddocks are often cleared to allow easier access.
Tipperary County Council granted Melclon planning permission in April this year, despite recommendations from both An Taisce and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage that preservation of the buildings be explored.
The plans were opposed by Save Parkville Farm, a coalition of local farmers, historians and environmental groups, many who said they had long-standing objections to Coolmore’s land management and farming practices.
Dr Alan Moore of Hedgerows Ireland appealed the council’s decision on the grounds that Tipperary’s County Development Plan recommends the preservation of vernacular buildings – that is, local and traditional structures – where possible.
The agency has ruled in Moore’s favour, outlining in its decision that Melclon “has not provided sufficient evidence to demonstrate that the conservation of the buildings and farmyard courtyard is not feasible”.
In a statement on behalf of Save Parkville Farm, Moore expressed his delight at the result and hoped the group – who have requested a meeting with Magnier – would now get an opportunity to present their ideas on the future of the complex.
Their submission to An Coimisiún Pleanála included expert recommendations from a renovation stonemason and an architectural historian who supported the restoration of Parkville.
Hedgerows Ireland were first contacted by locals concerned about what Moore calls Coolmore’s “landscape erasure” on new land acquired for the stud’s vast tillage operation, including the removal of internal hedges, trees and ditches and other landscape features to maximise acreage.
With reporting by Dean Buckley
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