A High Court judge has remanded a businessman to Mountjoy Prison over his failure to comply with orders to stay away from two properties in Co Monaghan.
An order directing that Fergal Deery, who had breached orders made by the High Court in 2015 not to trespass or interfere with two premises located in Monaghan Town, which had previously been controlled by Mr Deery's family be brought before the court to answer his contempt was made last March.
The application seeking Mr Deery's attachment and committal was brought by Wardglade Limited, represented in court by James McGowan Bl, which acquired the properties, which had been used as bar and a nightclub, from a receiver in 2015.
Unhappy over sale
Mr Deery is unhappy over the sale, which he alleged was fraudulent and had claimed that he was illegally evicted from the property in 2013.
Mr Deery was brought before Ms Justice Leonie Reynolds at the High Court on Wednesday evening following his arrest on Tuesday by the Gardai in Co Monaghan.
Mr Deery, who was not legally represented, indicated he wished to purge his contempt, and that he was finished with a battle that had "taken a toll on my family and myself" and was currently unemployed.
Ms Justice Reynolds, noting the long history of the proceedings and the fact that Mr Deery had previously been incarcerated for being in breach of court orders relating to the premises, remanded Mr Deery in custody to Mountjoy.
She said the issue of contempt should be dealt with by Mr Justice Senan Allen who had been hearing the matter.
Previous breaches
Given that there had been previous breaches of orders by Mr Deery, Mr Justice Allen may wish to impose a punitive sentence for contempt. Ms Justice Reynolds said.
She told Mr Deery that it was not a simple matter of merely purging his contempt. The judge, after remanding Mr Deery in custody made the contempt proceedings returnable before Mr Justice Allen on Thursday.
In 2015 High Court orders were obtained by Wardglade against Mr Deery, of Drumhillock, Monaghan restraining him from trespassing on the properties.
However, he was subsequently incarcerated in Mountjoy after being found to have breached those orders.
Mr Deery was committed to prison in July 2018 for two weeks after he was found in contempt of the 2015 orders.
He was released after he purged his contempt and gave undertakings to comply with the orders, and that he would cease making comments on social media or in public about Wardglade director Mr Ciaran Marron, and associates of his Seamus and Frank McEnaney.
Further proceedings
Last March Wardglade brought fresh proceedings claiming that there had been further breaches of the orders.
It claimed Mr Deery and others connected to him had entered the properties without Wardglade's consent on several occasions in September and December 2019.
It was also claimed that Mr Deery commenced a campaign of intimidation against persons associated with Wardglade and had made threats against Mr Marron's family, business associates and his solicitor on social media.
In a sworn statement to the court, Mr Marron said Mr Deery was seeking to intimidate parties by visiting his and his associate's homes, and staging protests Mr Marron's home town of Carrickmacross.
Last March Mr Justice Allen made orders directing that Mr Deery be brought before the court to answer his contempt.
Mr Deery was not present in court, and in an email to the court, the Judge was told that Mr Deery's absence from court was unavoidable.
