Animal windfall as house left to ISPCA goes under hammer

THE REPUBLIC’S vulnerable cats and dogs are to set to receive a windfall of about €200,000 after a Co Clare doctor and dog lover bequeathed her home and surgery to the Irish Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ISPCA).

Tomorrow at the Falls Hotel in Ennistymon, the three bed-roomed home and surgery owned by the late Dr Maura Lernihan in the spa town of Lisdoonvarna is set to go under the hammer at a public auction.

Chief executive of the ISPCA Noel Griffin yesterday paid tribute to the “wonderful act” by Dr Lernihan. He said: “It is a fantastic thing to happen. Dr Lernihan was a huge dog lover. She was a wonderful woman.”

Mr Griffin said Dr Lernihan’s bequest “is hugely important to us. There is the obvious financial benefit, but it gives a huge morale boost to our staff as well.”

Mr Griffin said that a bequest of the size of Dr Lernihan’s “is very rare for the ISPCA”.

Dr Lernihan died in August of 2007 and Mr Griffin said that the ISPCA learned of the bequest in 2008.

Mr Griffin said the property is probably worth half what it was when the ISPCA learned of the bequest three years ago. He said: “The market is dreadful at the moment”. The home has been on the market for the past year, starting off at €350,000 and it is expected to sell if the property receives a bid of €200,000 tomorrow.

Mr Griffin said that if the property doesn’t sell at auction, the ISPCA is contemplating raffling off the home at maybe €100 a ticket. He stressed: “The home will not be sold cheap”.

Mr Griffin said Dr Lernihan did not specify how she wanted the money spent. He said: “We intend to spend it on education or an additional warden.

“We had 15,000 calls on cruelty to animals last year and we don’t have enough inspectors.”