Magnier drops plan to appeal Barne Estate ruling

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

John Magnier has dropped his planned appeal against the High Court ruling over the Barne Estate, saying the decision was made on pragmatic grounds. The appeal would have challenged the judge’s findings, rather than sought to enforce the land deal or claim damages.

The High Court had found that no sale or option agreement was concluded. In December 2025, Mr Justice Max Barrett ordered Magnier to pay the sellers’ legal costs, estimated at more than €4 million. Making an exceptional award at the higher legal practitioner-client level, the judge said that “lying is what happened here” and that “entirely false” evidence had been given.

A statement on behalf of Magnier said he maintained that he had acted in good faith and remained disappointed by the ruling. The Thomson-Moore family welcomed the end of the proceedings and said they looked forward to focusing on their son, who has cerebral palsy and epilepsy.