A businessman is to remain in Mountjoy Prison over his failure to comply with orders to stay away from two properties in Co Monaghan.
Last March Mr Justice Senan Allen ordered 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.
The application seeking Mr Deery's attachment and committal was brought by Wardglade Limited, which acquired the properties from a receiver in 2015. They had been used as bar and a nightclub.
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.
Following his arrest by Gardai earlier this week Mr Deery was committed to Mountjoy Prison on Wednesday evening.
"Telling the truth"
The matter returned before Mr Justice Allen on Thursday afternoon when Mr Deery denied that he had breached the orders as alleged that the only thing he was in contempt of was "telling the truth."
He denied that he was the person seen on CCTV entering the premises at the centre of the dispute. He said that it was other people who went on the premises and that "it wasn't me."
He also told the court that he was an innocent person in all of this and agreed with the Judge that he would like to obtain legal advice with a view to overturning the contempt finding made against him in March.
Mr Justice Allen said he was satisfied that Mr Deery was in breach of court order made last March and that he should remain in Mountjoy Prison until he was prepared to purge his contempt or obtain legal advice.
Fed up with Mountjoy
The Judge said that whenever Mr Deery got fed up with Mountjoy he would hear his application to purge his contempt.
James McGowan Bl for Wardglade said his client did not want to see Mr Deery in prison, but does want the orders complied with. In 2015 High Court orders were obtained by Wardglade against Mr Deery, of Drumhillock, Monaghan restraining him from trespassing on the properties.
However, 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.
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.
Campaign
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.
When the case was called on last March, Mr Deery did not attend court, citing transport difficulties. The Judge adjourned the hearing for 24 hours to allow Mr Deery get to court.
However, he did not attend at the subsequent hearing.
