When Chris and Rose Murray were refused planning permission for a substantial dormer bungalow in 2006 on land they owned in Co Meath, they went ahead with more ambitious plans anyway. They built a detached house that was twice the size of the one denied permission at scenic Faughan Hill.
Shortly after they moved in, a complaint to Meath County Council kick-started an epic legal battle that went all the way to the Supreme Court as the couple sought, to no avail over two decades, to be granted retrospective planning permission for their house.
The process culminated this week with the council seizing the property.
But what has been their defence all this time? What will happen now to the 588sq m house which has been seized by gardaí. And in the midst of a housing crisis, could a fine family home really be demolished?
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The Irish Times science correspondent Caroline O’Doherty, who has been following the case over the decades, gives the background; while Irish Times legal affairs correspondent Mary Carolan explains what happened in court this week – and why it might not be the last the courts have seen of this saga.
Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Aideen Finnegan
