“I just finished that,” Philip Farrelly says, pointing to a copy of Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace.
The epic Russian novel lies on a chair on the upper level of his extension, which was recently declared an unauthorised development by a Circuit Court judge.
Behind the book, his bed faces large floor-to-ceiling windows offering views of Lambay Island, Ireland’s Eye and Burrow Beach.
The extension at the rear of his Victorian home on Burrow Road in Sutton, Co Dublin, has become a home for him and his wife. His son, Conor, and daughter-in-law occupy the remainder of the house.
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“The objective, from the beginning, was to turn this into something the two of us can live in,” the 73-year-old says.
Earlier this month, Farrelly was told by Judge John O’Connor to demolish the extension within eight months. He has since appealed this to the High Court.
Farrelly did not seek planning permission for the development, which he says cost about €300,000, as he believed it to be exempt. He first received an enforcement notice from Fingal County Council in March 2020, ordering him to remove it within four months.
The council initiated legal action four years later over a failure to comply.
“I don’t know any other crime that would inflict a punishment like this on an individual,” Farrelly says sitting at his dining table. Behind him, a painting of a beach is mounted on the wall.
“I’m almost 74, and I’m facing a long discussion here about which of us moves out, either myself and my wife into a rented place, or Conor and his young family. It’s horrendous.”
He believes the “punishment didn’t have to be this”, saying there are “hundreds of solutions” short of demolishing the extension, such as partial demolition. However, alternative proposals have been rejected by the council.
“I never believed that such an outcome could happen,” he says. “What good does it do to put us out on the road?
“I laid above in the bed for nights after it [the judgment], thinking: ‘Am I going to end up in jail’, because it’s a criminal offence. I’m in contempt of court if I don’t knock it.”
Now retired, Farrelly had a number of different companies, providing business, accounting and agricultural consultancy services, he says.
He says he is not a “rich man”, saying: “I haven’t money to pay the fees to be honest with you,” referencing the judge’s decision to grant the council its legal fees against Farrelly.
He believes the costs associated with demolishing the extension could reach €300,000, saying: “I don’t have it.”
Asked if the demolition of an illegally-built house in Bohermeen, Co Meath, has influenced his thinking, Farrelly says: “I can’t even read about that. It’s raw, isn’t it.”
However, he says his case is different, claiming he has “followed from day one the dictates and the requests of the county council”.
“Every time they asked us for plans, we gave them,” he says, adding that he facilitated inspections “every time”.
“I’ve obeyed the rules all my life. I was in court a couple of times for no tax, perhaps, on the car, maybe for dangerous driving once 30 years ago, you know. I’m a very ordinary person.”
He claims he was told by a council official during multiple inspections throughout the works that it was an exempted development, saying the enforcement notice taped to his window in 2020 came “completely out of the blue”.
“If there is an impression out there that I was trying to bully my way through the system, trying to evade or bypass the system, I wasn’t.
“From the start I sought advice. I followed the directions on the guidance of the county council. I have no idea why, in March 2020, they changed their minds,” he says.
Asked if he hopes his High Court appeal will be successful, he says: “How can I be hopeful after following the rules as I saw them?”
Then asked if he would demolish the extension should his appeal fail, Farrelly says: “I’m almost 74. I’ve obeyed the rules my whole life. I don’t envisage lying on the street. I don’t envisage lying in front of bulldozers.
“I can’t believe that Ireland will do that to me. I simply can’t.”
Fingal County Council was contacted for comment on Farrelly’s claims and his appeal.
“As the matter remains before the courts, Fingal County Council has no further comment to make,” a spokesman said.
