Court finds against businessman in injunction rulings over site earmarked for data centre

The High Court has extended an injunction preventing an alleged former owner of lands in Co Wicklow earmarked for a data centre from trespassing on the property.

Mr Justice Tony O’Connor granted the order in favour of Fane Investments Limited restraining Brian McDonagh, who the company says is a former owner of lands it now owns at Mount Kennedy, Kilpedder, Co Wicklow, from trespassing and interfering with the 82-acre property.

The judge also dismissed a separate pretrial motion brought by Brian McDonagh and his brothers Maurice and Kenneth McDonagh against Fane, a related company called Quanta Capital Investments Ltd, and Mel Sutcliffe, who is a director of the firms, that also concerns the site.

The McDonaghs have sued those parties seeking damages and various reliefs including an order requiring the defendants to specifically perform a 2017 agreement to enter into a 50-50 partnership.

Maureen Dowd: Trump’s line about being martyred always seemed risible but I guess it works with some people

---

Breda O'Brien: Are the mistakes of Junior Cycle reform about to be repeated in the Leaving Cert?

---

Kevin Barry: ‘I didn’t publish a book till I was 37. I thought I must have been an awful f*cking waster’

---

Can we finally say goodbye to shaming women for letting their hair go grey?

---

Under that arrangement, the brothers claim, the parties would develop a data centre on the lands through a special-purpose vehicle (SPV).

However, they claim the defendants failed to comply with their obligations under the agreement.

The defendants deny the claims.

Represented by Frederick Gilligan, instructed by solicitor Carrie McDermott of MDM Solicitors, the defendants claim the agreement never became legally binding because the McDonaghs had failed to perform certain conditions included in the proposed partnership deal.

In their pretrial motion, the brothers sought orders including an injunction preventing the defendants from marketing, leasing or disposing of the lands in question, pending the outcome of the full hearing of their claim.

In his submissions to the court seeking the injunction, Brian McDonagh told the court that it was their cases that he and his brothers had been “cheated” by the defendants and that they would suffer irreparable damage if the lands were sold before the dispute has been resolved.

Mr Gilligan said the injunction against his clients should not be granted.

The court heard that the lands at the centre of the dispute are green fields used for grazing animals and that planning permission for a data centre had been obtained for the site.

In his rulings on Wednesday, Mr Justice O’Connor said he was not prepared to grant the orders sought as part of the McDonaghs’ claim.

While he was not making any final determination in the matter, the judge said he was satisfied that damages would be an adequate remedy should the McDonaghs succeed in their action.

In its motion, Fane, which says it acquired the lands from Ulster Bank in 2021, claimed that Brian McDonagh, of Drummin, Delgany, Co Wicklow, had been changing locks on the gates and had impeded Fane and its agents from accessing the lands.

In June, the High Court granted Fane a temporary injunction restraining Brian McDonagh from trespassing on or interfering with the lands.

Mr McDonagh opposed the application and denied any wrongdoing.

He said that he had accessed the lands where his wife has kept two horses for some 15 years and where they have grazing rights.

Ruling on Fane’s motion, the judge said he was satisfied to continue the injunction Fane sought.

He was satisfied from the evidence that Brian McDonagh was not the owner of the lands, and at best had an interest in the property through an SPV.

In regard to the horses, which he said were innocent parties, the judge said the parties should make arrangements between themselves for their removal from the lands.

If nothing could be agreed, then Fane had the court’s permission to bring fresh proceedings seeking to have them removed from the lands, the judge said.

Mr Justice O’Connor also made directions in respect of both actions and set out a timetable for the exchange of documents and pleadings in the disputes.

The judge said he was doing this with a view to having the matters before him resolved by the courts as soon as possible.

The case was adjourned by the judge to a date later this month.

The court previously heard that the McDonagh brothers have been involved in lengthy proceedings concerning the lands with Ulster Bank and receivers it had appointed over the lands.