RTE star Kenny in land row with his neighbour

PAT Kenny's next-door neighbour is to go to court next week in a bid to inspect lands in exclusive Dalkey at the centre of a long-running dispute with the Late Late Show host.

Retired solicitor Gerard Charlton is locked in a legal battle with the RTE's star broadcaster and his wife Kathy over a piece of land near their homes in south county Dublin.

The proceedings brought by Mr Charlton against the Kennys came before Mr Justice Frank Clarke yesterday but were adjourned to Monday, when the court will deal with Mr Charlton's motion asking the court to be allowed inspect the lands.

When the case was in court last year in an unsuccessful bid to have it heard by the Commercial Court, Mr Charlton claimed the Kennys' had wrongly "annexed" a portion of his lands adjoining their home in Dalkey, Co Dublin.

Access

He also alleged the Kennys' had sought to prevent him gaining access to the lands in question in July 2006 and that, when he did gain access, they had bolted a gate, which prevented him leaving the property.

Mr Charlton (72), Maple Tree House, Harbour Road, Dalkey, claims he agreed to permit Mr Kenny to replace a pedestrian gate at the entrance to the lands in question near Bulloch Harbour, referred to as the Gorse Hill property, which the pensioner claims he had permitted the Kennys to use since they had come to live beside him in 1988.

However, he claims, Mr Kenny subsequently refused to give him the code for a digital keypad installed at the new electronic gate and had also sought on July 27, 2006 to prevent Mr Charlton from gaining access to Gorse Hill.

It was that incident last July which trigged the beginning of legal proceedings, Mr Justice Peter Kelly was told when the case was before him last year via an application to have it admitted to the Commercial Court.

Refusing to admit the case, Mr Justice Kelly said it was about an "unfortunate dispute between neighbours". The issue was whether Mr Charlton was the legal and beneficial owner of the lands and he believed the case would be more appropriately dealt with in the Circuit Court.

Ann O'Loughlin
Irish Independent