The High Court has adjudicated Conor Clarkson bankrupt after finding that an unpaid judgment debt of €586,980.82 remained due to Gradual Investments Limited and that no credible alternative insolvency proposal had been established.
Mr Justice Kennedy delivered his reasons on 21 January 2026 after making the bankruptcy order at a hearing on 24 November 2025.
The petition was based on a High Court order of 25 January 2023 requiring Clarkson to pay €565,000. No part of that sum had been paid. Courts Act interest of €21,980.82 had accrued before the bankruptcy petition was issued.
Clarkson had also failed to comply with a bankruptcy summons served on 7 March 2025. The court found that the statutory requirements for adjudication had been met.
Clarkson disputed the debt and argued that it should have been reduced through the sale of an asset connected with the Powerscourt Arms. The judge rejected those claims as unsupported and as an impermissible collateral challenge to the earlier High Court order, which Clarkson had consented to.
He also argued that his financial difficulties could be addressed through a personal insolvency arrangement. A personal insolvency practitioner had indicated that he might be eligible.
The High Court was not persuaded. Clarkson’s own statement of affairs disclosed net liabilities exceeding €55 million and monthly surplus income of €5,726.42. The judge identified significant inconsistencies and missing information, including uncertainty about secured debts and the failure initially to disclose an unsuccessful and controversial personal insolvency application from 2019.
Mr Justice Kennedy found no credible evidence that a new arrangement would give creditors a better outcome than bankruptcy. He also expressed concern that further delay could prejudice unsecured creditors.
The court therefore concluded that the statutory case for bankruptcy had been established and that Clarkson’s financial position was not more appropriately dealt with through a debt settlement or personal insolvency arrangement.