A dispute between five Westmeath brothers over their mother’s estate, including a farm, has been heard before the High Court.

Mary Conway of Glascorn, Mullingar, Co Westmeath, passed away in June 2013. The executor, Mary’s son Fintan Conway, had his handling of the estate challenged by two of his brothers, David Conway and Ciaran Conway.

They sought his removal as executor, alleging that he was responsible for delays in the discharging of the estate and that he had failed to discharge his duties lawfully.

Two other brothers, Frank and Kevin Conway, supported the executor and opposed the application. The matter was adjudicated on by Mr Justice Kennedy in the High Court.

Complex

The case was complex, as Mary Conway’s estate, including some farmland, was bequeathed to her five sons, with David, Kevin and Frank Conway each receiving 30% of the estate, while Fintan and Ciaran received 5% each.

Four of the brothers, all except Frank, were also part of a farm partnership, with shareholdings of varying levels. Mary’s husband and the brothers’ father Frank passed away in 1999. Most of the lands were passed to the sons, with Mary retaining a small holding and some livestock.

The judgment explained that Ciaran has managed the family’s farming interests since the 1990s on behalf of his mother, and also, in more recent years, his siblings, and that “he traditionally enjoyed a free hand on behalf of both the testator and the family”. The combined enterprise had a turnover in excess of €1m.

A three-day hearing centred around “the appropriateness of, and motivation for, actions of the second applicant (Ciaran) and the respondent (Fintan) respectively, with the controversy turning on “how certain matters should be characterised and who was responsible for the difficulties and delay”, according to the judgment.

Father Ted

Justice Kennedy likened an element of Ciaran Conway’s evidence regarding funds in an account held on behalf of the partnership as reminiscent of Father Ted’s line that “the money was just resting in my account”.

The judgment stated “although the second applicant (Ciaran) disavowed the expression when I asked him whether he was adopting it, there were times during his testimony when he certainly appeared to adopt such a “Craggy Island” defence, a defence which is not mandated in Irish law”.

The judgment found that Fintan Conway, as executor, “was not guilty of gross delay”, but rather the evidence suggested that Ciaran “was overwhelmingly responsible for the delay”.

The application to have him removed as executor was denied, with costs awarded to Fintan Conway.

Fintan Conway would be well-known to farmers across Ireland, particularly in the tillage sector, from his many years working as an executive in the IFA. Ciaran Conway is a nutritionist with Devenish.