A house in Co Meath built without planning permission has been seized from its owners after a 20-year legal battle. Meath County Council, with assistance from gardaí, took control of the property on Monday following court proceedings.
Years-Long Legal Dispute
Chris and Rose Murray made five unsuccessful attempts to secure retention permission and three failed appeals to keep their 588 sq m (6,220 sq ft) home. Their case was ultimately rejected by the Supreme Court last November.
The couple built the house at Faughan Hill, Bohermeen, Navan in what a previous court hearing described as a “wilful breach” of planning laws.
Meath County Council initially took a case against the couple in 2007 under Section 160 of the Planning Act, requiring the removal of any unauthorized development. The Murrays were given one year to vacate the property.
When the couple refused to leave, the council initiated contempt proceedings. These were settled on the condition that the Murrays would vacate within two years, allowing the council to demolish the house. However, just three days before their scheduled departure, the Murrays filed a new case, claiming they had evidence invalidating the council’s previous planning refusals.
In 2024, the High Court dismissed the Murrays’ case as “frivolous, vexatious and an abuse of process.” An appeal by the couple was subsequently dismissed the following year.
Judge Senan Allen, delivering the Court of Appeal’s judgment, stated that after Chris Murray’s 2006 application for permission to build was refused, the couple proceeded to build a house that was twice the size of the originally proposed structure, “undaunted, and in wilful breach of the planning laws.”
The judge added that the couple “well knew” they needed planning permission but “hoped they would get away with it.” The Supreme Court rejected the couple’s final appeal last November, leaving them with no further legal options.
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