Bishop denies he had any influence over disputed will

Tridentine Bishop Michael Cox has told the High Court he did not in any way influence a woman whose will is at the centre of a legal dispute.

He said Celine Murphy (50) simply produced the handwritten will from an envelope, asked him to witness it and entrusted it to him as executor.

He was giving evidence on the third day of a hearing in which Ms Murphy's sisters Majella Rippington and Edel Banahan, along with her brother-in-law Shaun Rippington, are seeking to have the will declared invalid on grounds of alleged duress and undue influence.

Bishop Cox (70) and the sole beneficiary of the will, Mary Butler, a long-time friend of Ms Murphy, dispute that she was not of sound mind and have counter-claimed, seeking to have the will declared valid.

Ms Murphy, a hair stylist from Old Naas Road, Dublin, died from cancer on March 15th, 2011. Her estate has a disputed value of between €283,000 and €500,000.

The court was told that Ms Murphy arrived at Ms Butler's home at Sallins, Co Kildare, on March 8th, the day before she was admitted to St Vincent's hospital where she later died.

Ms Butler was not at home but her daughter Johanna, who had been diagnosed with the same cancer from which Ms Murphy was suffering, was there along with Bishop Cox, a long-time friend of the Butlers.

Handwritten

Bishop Cox told the court the three were sitting at the kitchen table when Ms Murphy produced the handwritten will and asked them to witness it.

They signed it and Ms Murphy entrusted it to him, asking that he should not say anything about it for three weeks should anything happen to her.

Asked by his counsel, Cormac Ó Dúlacháin SC, about claims he may have influenced Ms Murphy as to how she made the will, he said: “No, the document was already prepared, all we had to do was sign and witness it.”

Earlier, he said he first met Ms Murphy, through Ms Butler, around 2000. He got to know her well and often visited the Butlers. He said he had gone from his home in Shinrone, Co Offaly, on March 8th, for a break and was there when Ms Murphy arrived.

Johanna Butler told the court Ms Murphy was a long-time family friend and when Johanna was diagnosed with cancer, the women shared their experiences.

Shocked

She was shocked when Ms Murphy produced a document from an envelope saying “this is my last will and testament” because they both had always been so positive about their illness.

While Ms Murphy had bandages on her fingers, from gangrene, a complication from her cancer, Ms Butler said she did see Ms Murphy struggling to sign the will herself.

Ms Butler told the court she first met Ms Murphy in 1989 when she got her hair done in the hair salon where she had worked for 34 years. They became good friends. Ms Murphy named her as next-of-kin on admission to hospital.

Under cross-examination by Majella Rippington, she disagreed she had lied about their relationship. Mrs Rippington claims she was an adviser to her late sister, not a social friend.

Una McGurk, a client of Ms Murphy who also socialised with her, said on the evening before she died, there was an incident in the hospital in which she and other people knelt around Celine’s bed praying.

She said Majella Rippington, who was not named as next-of- kin, arrived with a hospital security man who “grabbed me by the shoulder and escorted me out of the room and told me under no circumstances was I ever to come back again”.