The High Court has refused to order the release of Claire Knowles from detention following her committal for failing to comply with a possession order concerning her family home in Glanmire, Co Cork.
The underlying mortgage dated from 2006. After default, possession proceedings were brought in Cork Circuit Court and an order requiring Knowles to surrender the property was made in January 2014. Her appeal was dismissed by the High Court in July 2014.
In December 2015, Cork Circuit Court ordered her attachment and committal until she purged her contempt of the possession order. An Article 40 inquiry into the legality of her detention followed.
Mr Justice Richard Humphreys rejected several challenges to the detention. He held that a later attempt to obtain more time to mount a second appeal against the possession order had no legal basis. The earlier appeal had already been finally determined.
The court also ruled that Ben Gilroy, who had initially moved the habeas corpus application on Knowles's behalf, could not represent her during the substantive hearing. A detained person may represent themselves or be represented by a qualified lawyer, save for rare exceptional cases. Gilroy and, later, Jerry Beades were permitted to assist as McKenzie friends.
The judge further held that the Governor of Limerick Prison, rather than Bank of Ireland, bore responsibility for justifying the legality of Knowles's detention under Article 40.
Knowles also relied on errors in the paperwork. A notice changing solicitors had been wrongly backdated and the original committal warrant contained an incorrect plaintiff name. The latter error was potentially significant, but a corrected warrant had been obtained before the governor's certificate was furnished to the High Court.
The court found no jurisdictional or fundamental flaw sufficient to justify release. Knowles's bail was continued temporarily until 7pm on 16 December 2015 to allow her an opportunity to apply in Cork Circuit Court to purge her contempt. No costs order was made.