Court fine for former chairman

The former chairman of CountyGlen, Mr Ambrose Kelly, has been fined £50 in the District Court for failing to convene an annual general meeting of the now-defunct company.

The case was taken by the Department of Enterprise, Trade & Employment on foot of a complaint from a shareholder. The hearing, earlier this week, was told that Mr Kelly had failed to convene the meeting, contrary to Section 131 of the Companies Act, 1963.

Section 131 obliges companies to hold annual general meetings not more than 15 months apart. It is understood that the company and every officer of the company can be fined up to £100 if they are found in default. Mr Kelly, who runs his own architectural practice, said last night that he had resigned from CountyGlen last April. He said that, technically, the company could not have convened the meeting. He said he had been given 14 days to convene a shareholders' meeting, but the statutory notice to give was 21 days.

Mr Kelly was fined £50 and was ordered to pay expenses, which he said would amount to around £350. Mr Kelly said he would not be appealing the case.

CountyGlen, which has had a controversial history, is currently in liquidation, following a High Court application by the Revenue Commissioners last month. The motion was granted on foot of a judgment of £231,539 which the Revenue had got last September. The company's stock listing was cancelled in 1996 because it failed to show it had a business suitable for quotation. In 1994 a report by Mr Frank Clarke SC identified Mr John Carway as being the central figure in a fraud which cost the company £1 million. This was rejected by Mr Carway.

A chief executive, Mr Niall Duggan, had taken over CountyGlen in May 1995 on a salary of £90,000 a year. Under his direction the company looked at several propositions, including trying to take over a giftware company called Bullers, which he had formerly run. However, it and other proposals came to nought.