THE HIGH Court has made an order allowing the daughter of convicted killer Eamonn Lillis to take part in a legal action brought by the family of his late wife, Celine Cawley, over assets they jointly owned.
At the High Court yesterday, Ms Justice Mary Laffoy made an order joining Georgia Lillis, who turned 18 last November, as a plaintiff to the action against Lillis. She ruled that it was “appropriate” as she was the person most affected by the outcome of the proceedings.
Lillis (53) is serving six years and 11 months at Wheatfield Prison for the manslaughter of his wife at their home in Howth, Co Dublin, in December 2008.
Ms Cawley’s sister Susanna and brother Christopher, who are joint administrators of the estate, are seeking court orders to prevent Lillis securing any interest in properties that were jointly owned by the couple and that the properties should be transferred to Georgia.
The properties are thought to include the family home in Howth, an apartment in Sutton, Dublin, and a holiday home in France.
The court was told that Georgia Lillis, the couple’s only child, was “most anxious” and “unequivocally wanted” to be joined to the action, in order to reply to certain claims made in affidavits by her father about the joint assets – including the family home.
Lawyers representing Lillis opposed the application to join Georgia, saying it was not necessary and would not help the court determine the legal issues that arose.
Ms Justice Laffoy adjourned the matter to late July, but said the action would not be heard until the next legal term started next October.
In her will, Ms Cawley left a legacy of more than €1 million to be inherited by their daughter. Lillis is entitled to €353,508 following the liquidation of the television production firm Toytown Films Ltd, which was founded by Ms Cawley. Toytown was placed in voluntary liquidation three months after her death and had a balance of €707,016 when creditors were paid off. As a joint shareholder, Lillis was entitled to half that sum with the remainder going to her estate.