Lawlor sought share of land sale profits

Mahon tribunal:  A solicitor has told the Mahon tribunal he was "astounded" when Mr Liam Lawlor claimed a share of the proceeds…

Mahon tribunal:  A solicitor has told the Mahon tribunal he was "astounded" when Mr Liam Lawlor claimed a share of the proceeds from the sale of land in west Dublin, writes Paul Cullen.

Mr Stephen Miley, of Miley and Miley solicitors, handled conveyancing work on the land at Coolamber on behalf of his client, Mr John Caldwell. Mr Miley dealt with the transfer of the land from an Irish company, Southfield Property Company, to Vino Properties, registered in the British Virgin Islands.

Mr Miley said the first he knew of the former Fianna Fáil TD's involvement was after the transaction was completed, when the politician called in to his office and demanded a meeting. Mr Lawlor claimed a share of the proceeds. "This came as a surprise to me," Mr Miley told the tribunal.

According to Mr Miley, the transfer of ownership to Vino was "simple, routine and straightforward". However, the onward transfer from Vino to Tiernan Homes was "far from normal".

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Vino acquired the land from Southfield in May 1992 for almost £400,000. That December, it was sold to a company owned by Tiernan Homes for £2.7 million. Mr Miley said the two transactions were not alike, because the first price was paid for farmland, whereas the second involved planning permission for 500 houses.

Mr Caldwell had not told him that Mr Lawlor funded the initial acquisition of the land with money borrowed from Mr Larry Goodman, he said. "John Caldwell told me nothing; I was only the conveyancing solicitor." Mr Miley said his file on the transaction was not available because he had sent it to Mr Caldwell's solicitors in the Isle of Man. He had been reluctant to comply with it, "but at the end of the day, the file belongs to the client".

Earlier, the architect who designed the houses built on the Coolamber land, Mr John F. O'Connor, said he knew Mr Caldwell was the principal behind the Coolamber lands. In the mid-1990s, Mr O'Connor said he also carried out work for offshore companies controlled by Mr Caldwell in respect of projects in Baldoyle. He was not paid more than £17,000 in fees due for work on these sites.

Asked if he had tried to recover this debt, he said the consensus was that he would be wasting his time. It would cost him a lot of money to pursue offshore companies. Eventually, he got half of what he was due, but the remainder was never paid.