Clifden, Co Galway, was one of the windiest places in the Northern Hemisphere, a judge said yesterday when he rejected a claim by a vet that his off-road Land Rover was not as tough as it was supposed to be.
The vet, who bought a Land Rover Discovery to tackle the rugged conditions of his west of Ireland practice, failed in his claim for damages.
He had argued before the Dublin Circuit Civil Court that the vehicle was patently unsuitable for the purposes for which it was sold to him.
Mr James Casey, of Main Street, Clifden, whose practice covers part of Connemara, lost his £30,000 damages claim against Rover's Dublin-based main agent, Stuart's Garages Ltd.
He had sued the company for breach of contract on the grounds that the off-roader had been recommended to him as a "go anywhere" vehicle which had been "built to last".
He was awarded £100 damages with District Court costs in relation to spot rusting around the jack housing under the bonnet.
Mr James Bridgeman, counsel for Mr Casey, told Judge Kevin Haugh that his client paid £18,300 for the Land Rover on March 14th, 1994.
A fortnight later, a gust of wind caught the boot door while it was partly open and whipped it back against its hinges.
Mr Casey said the hinges were damaged and the door would not close properly. Before the vehicle was a month old, the damage was exacerbated when the door whipped open again after the vehicle had been parked on an incline. Afterwards he had to tie it closed with twine.
He told the court the design of the rear door check strap, which controlled the weight of the door and an attached spare wheel, was not strong enough to restrain it, particularly in windy conditions or while the vehicle was parked on a slope.
He had found other faults with the vehicle and felt its value had been depreciated greatly because of them.
He had sold it in July 1998 with a mileage of 132,000.
Judge Haugh said the design tolerance of the door was that it could be opened safely within a wind speed of 35 m.p.h.
He said Clifden was as windy a place as one could find in Ireland which was said to have the highest mean wind speed in the Northern Hemisphere.
Judge Haugh told Mr Colm P. Condon, counsel for Stuart's, that 35 m.p.h. was far short of the lowest form of gale and just because Mr Casey had told his client the vehicle was to be used in Connemara and Clifden did not mean they had been negligent in selling it to him.