Witnesses including billionaire Maurice Regan and Coolmore’s group financial director Eddie Irwin will be called to give evidence in the High Court in the coming weeks as the high-profile Barne Estate case resumes on Thursday 19 June.

Irwin has been a key figure in witness testimony presented so far, with Coolmore boss John Magnier telling the court that many of the legal and business decisions taken in relation to its alleged purchase of Barne Estate in Co Tipperary were made by Irwin.

The case centres on an alleged verbal agreement and handshake deal between John Magnier and Richard Thomson-Moore of Barne Estate on 22 August 2023 which would have seen the estate sold to Magnier for €15m. John Magnier alleges that Thomson-Moore broke a binding deal and a subsequent exclusivity agreement by later agreeing to sell the estate to construction magnate Maurice Regan for €22.25m.

The High Court case was taken by John Magnier, his son John Paul Magnier and daughter Katherine Wachman, against Richard Thomson-Moore, Barne Estate Ltd, and two Jersey-registered companies, IQ EQ One and IQ EQ Two.

Witnesses yet to be called in the case will include Maurice Regan, the billionaire owner of Newtown Anner Stud, located close to Barne Estate. Regan, founder and CEO of US-based construction company JT Magen, is not a party to the case but is a central figure in the fight for the trophy Tipperary property.

John Magnier alleged in court that Regan wanted to depress the price of land in Tipperary, while Magnier’s son-in-law David Wachman described Regan in court as “an aggressive man” who was “ranting” down the phone after he learned that John Magnier had allegedly bought Barne Estate on 22 August 2023.

The case is expected to continue until July.