A co. Tipperary farmer who has spent the past four months in prison, including a period at the Central Mental Hospital, because he failed to honour an undertaking to pay £100,000 to a former girlfriend, was released by the High Court yesterday.
Mr Donal Brereton, of Old court, Borrisokane, was released after Mr Justice Kelly ordered that a High Court registrar should execute documents necessary to complete a sale of Mr Brereton's land to a Dublin solicitor (buying in trust) for £425,000.
When the monies are received they will be given to Mr Brere ton's former solicitor, Mr Joe Colgan, who undertook to pay £100,000 to the man's former girlfriend, Ms Sinead Mulcair, of Main Street, Borrisokane. Mr Colgan is also to pay a debt of £109,000 owed by Mr Brereton to the ACC. After deducting his own legal costs, Mr Colgan undertook to pay the balance to Mr Brereton.
When Mr Justice Kelly had made his order, an aunt of Mr Brereton asked if she and her niece could buy back the property.
The judge said she was free to enter into negotiations with the new buyer if she wished.
Mr Justice Kelly said matters had been taken out of Mr Brere ton's hands because he had failed to honour previous undertakings to the court and had been in contempt. He had been in prison since July. He had offered no apology to the court for his behaviour, but in the light of what had now been decided it appeared the most sensible thing would be to order his release.
Mr Brereton said he wished to apologise, and the judge ordered his release.
Earlier Mr Eoin McCullough SC, for Ms Mulcair, said she had brought proceedings in 1998 for specific performance of a written contract between herself and Mr Brereton in which he agreed to sell 229 acres to her for £175,000. The matter came before the court in July 1998. A settlement was reached by which Mr Brereton undertook to pay her £100,000 and to put his lands up for auction.
But Mr Brereton then entered into a private sale with a Mr Damien Woods, a Dublin solicitor. Again, he had not completed that sale. Ms Mulcair had no other option but to seek to commit Mr Brereton to prison for his failure to honour his undertaking, counsel said.
Mr McCullough said Mr Brereton had been before Ms Justice Macken on a number of occasions before she eventually decided last July to commit him to prison for failure to comply with his undertaking to the court.
Mr Brendan Watchorn, for Mr Woods, said the High Court had ordered specific performance of the contract for sale.
Mr Colgan told the court he no longer acted for Mr Brereton but he was, however, still involved as he had given an undertaking to pay a £109,000 loan by the ACC to Mr Brereton. He said Mr Brereton authorised him to draw down this loan and he had sent the cheques to Mr Brereton.
Mr Brereton told the court he had never received the cheques.
At an earlier stage of the proceedings, the judge said he was reluctantly going to order his continued detention until he purged his contempt. At this stage Mr Brereton's aunt stood up and spoke to her nephew.
When told of the woman's identity, Mr Justice Kelly granted her time to discuss the matter with her nephew. He also agreed to allow lawyers for Ms Mulcair and Mr Woods to discuss whether an arrangement could be reached for transfer of the lands to Mr Woods.
Following an adjournment the judge was told an agreement had been reached and he directed completion of the sale of the lands to Mr Woods.