Courts / Roscommon / Report

High Court upholds solicitor's misconduct finding over Mayo land transfer

Date
2025-11-14

Stage
Hearing Or Decision

Primary locality
Roscommon

Summary

The High Court has upheld a disciplinary tribunal finding against suspended Roscommon solicitor Declan O'Callaghan regarding professional misconduct over a 2006 land transfer in Mayo. Mr Justice Micheál O'Higgins dismissed three of the four complaints brought by Nirvanna Property Holdings Ltd, run by Tom Fleming, but upheld the finding that O'Callaghan acted for both the vendor and purchaser in a conflict of interest. The judge stated that acting for both sides in this transaction represented a serious falling short of professional standards, though he was not minded to conclude O'Callaghan was guilty of dishonesty. The court found it was not proven beyond reasonable doubt that the vendor was owed €250,000, nor that O'Callaghan provided inadequate services or improperly continued acting for the purchaser. O'Callaghan, who has been suspended since 2018 over a separate matter involving alleged client account deficits, had argued he was not given a fair hearing. The tribunal's original recommendation to strike him off the roll remains on hold. The matter was adjourned to the New Year for submissions on costs and the appropriate sanction.