The Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal challenging the right of Charles and Raymond Crowley to acquire the fee simple in their Cork home, while finding that part of the High Court’s legal reasoning was wrong.
Ms Justice Elizabeth Dunne delivered judgment on 5 February 2026 in proceedings concerning 1B Anneville, Coolgarten Park, Magazine Road, Cork.
The Crowleys hold the property under a 1940 sublease. They sought to buy out the superior interests under the Landlord and Tenant ground rents legislation. Their landlord, Barry Sheehan, objected.
The dispute centred on section 16(2)(f) of the Landlord and Tenant (Ground Rents) (No. 2) Act 1978. That provision can prevent a sub-lessee from acquiring the fee simple where the holder of the superior lease is not itself entitled to do so.
Before the County Registrar, Circuit Court and High Court, Sheehan’s core argument was that the superior 1893 lease could not qualify because it contained no covenant requiring construction of buildings. The Supreme Court held that argument was misconceived. A building covenant is not a prerequisite to a qualifying lease.
The High Court had rejected Sheehan’s appeal on a different basis, interpreting section 16(2)(f) as effectively aimed only at commercial or supermarket leases. The Supreme Court also rejected that interpretation. The section applies generally and is not confined to commercial property.
By the time the case reached the Supreme Court, however, both of those arguments had been abandoned. Sheehan instead sought to argue that the Crowleys had never proved that the 1893 head lease independently satisfied the statutory qualifying conditions.
Dunne J held that it would be unfair and impermissible to allow the appeal to succeed on that new basis after the case had been litigated throughout on a different argument and leave to appeal had been granted on another point of general public importance.
The appeal was therefore dismissed and the High Court order allowing the Crowleys to acquire the fee simple was affirmed.