Former Irish rugby international Ronan O’Gara and his wife Jessica were at Cork Circuit Court yesterday, where they reached a settlement with kitchen company House of Coolmore Ltd, with an address at Raheens, Carrigaline, Co Cork.
The company had taken a civil action against the couple, of Maryborough Hill, Douglas, Cork, arising out of a dispute over an alleged unpaid bill following the installation of a luxury kitchen at the O’Garas’ Maryborough Hill home.
No details of the settlement or the sum of money involved were read out in court.
It is understood the settlement was in the region of €27,000-€30,000.
The couple had returned from their home in Paris, where Mr O’Gara works as a coach with Racing Metro, to attend the proceedings.
Struck out
At lunchtime, counsel for the House of Colemore Colman O’Donnchadha told Judge David Riordan that the matter could be struck out with the consent of all the parties.
As outlined in the ordinary civil bill prepared by the plaintiff, which was not read out in court, House of Coolmore had claimed that the parties entered an agreement in 2006 that they would supply and install a kitchen with appliances and other furniture, and that the terms of payment in the agreement was that a portion of the money would be paid to the plaintiff, with the balance being discharged by the defendants, Ronan and Jessica O’Gara, providing image rights to the plaintiff in respect of photographs of them taken within the supplied kitchen.
House of Coolmore had said the kitchen was supplied in September 2006 at a cost of €76,166 and that €35,238 was paid to the company by the O’Garas.
The company had claimed the balance of €40,928 was due.
The plaintiff had claimed that they subsequently paid a photographer to take promotional photographs of the O’Garas in the supplied kitchen, but the defendants later refused to approve the promotional photographs for publication, or to pay the sums due.