The Supreme Court has awarded Edward Walsh and Constance Cassidy three-quarters of their costs in their appeal over public rights of way across their lands at Lissadell, Co Sligo. The costs ruling followed the Court’s judgment of 11 November 2013.
The Court said the public right of way from point F should run west for 263 metres to the point on the coast where the former Lissadell House stood, designated point G on the map. It directed the parties to try to agree the location of that point, with liberty to apply if they could not.
The Court allowed the appeal against High Court declarations of public rights of way over routes B–C, B–D and B–E, and over the part of route A–B that was not the appellants’ property. In their place, it declared a public right of way over route F–G.
Sligo County Council had asked the Court to declare a public right of way over the Burrows section of route B–E and to reconsider its finding that there was no evidence Farm Avenue existed before it appeared on the 1885 Ordnance Survey Map. The Court rejected those submissions. It said its earlier judgment had addressed all of route B–E, including the Burrows.
The Court said the council had provided no evidence about when Farm Avenue was built, and its historical expert had given no evidence about the period after 1840. It also found the council had not shown that the original coastal route had been diverted onto Farm Avenue or that the Burrows corresponded to the old coastal route. The High Court had found public use of the Burrows was limited and largely by licence; the Supreme Court had held that use insufficient to support an inference that a public right had been dedicated.
On costs, the Court said the appellants had sought separate declarations concerning four routes. They succeeded on three, but a public right of way was found over part of the fourth. Taking all the circumstances into account, it awarded them three-quarters of their costs in both the High Court and Supreme Court. The appellants withdrew their request to send the damages issue back to the High Court.