Bernard and Helen McDonagh win appeal over eviction order

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

Bernard and Helen McDonagh won their Supreme Court appeal on 31 January 2022, overturning an interim order requiring their family to leave council land in Ennis, Co Clare.

The High Court granted Clare County Council the injunction in 2019, and the Court of Appeal upheld it in 2020. The Supreme Court ruled that the mandatory interim injunction should not have been granted.

The council had argued that the family occupied a greenfield site unlawfully and had carried out unauthorised development, including a stone road and a courtyard between dwellings.

The Supreme Court found that the family had raised a fair case against the order. Its assessment included their circumstances as members of a vulnerable minority and an arguable question about whether the council had met its housing responsibilities.