{"id":399469,"date":"2026-03-23T09:23:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-23T09:23:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/399469\/"},"modified":"2026-03-23T09:23:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T09:23:09","slug":"man-wants-reprieve-for-e300000-sutton-extension-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/399469\/","title":{"rendered":"Man wants reprieve for \u20ac300,000 Sutton extension \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cI just finished that,\u201d Philip Farrelly says, pointing to a copy of Leo Tolstoy\u2019s War and Peace.<\/p>\n

The epic Russian novel lies on a chair on the upper level of his extension, which was recently declared an unauthorised development<\/a> by a Circuit Court judge.<\/p>\n

Behind the book, his bed faces large floor-to-ceiling windows offering views of Lambay Island, Ireland\u2019s Eye and Burrow Beach.<\/p>\n

The extension at the rear of his Victorian home on Burrow Road in Sutton<\/a>, Co Dublin<\/a>, has become a home for him and his wife. His son, Conor, and daughter-in-law occupy the remainder of the house.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe objective, from the beginning, was to turn this into something the two of us can live in,\u201d the 73-year-old says.<\/p>\n

\"FingalFingal County Council issued an enforcement order seeking removal of the glass-fronted double extension in 2020. Photograph: Alan Betson <\/p>\n

Earlier this month, Farrelly was told by Judge John O\u2019Connor to demolish the extension within eight months<\/a>. He has since appealed this to the High Court.<\/p>\n

Farrelly did not seek planning permission for the development, which he says cost about \u20ac300,000, as he believed it to be exempt. He first received an enforcement notice from Fingal County Council in March 2020<\/a>, ordering him to remove it within four months.<\/p>\n

The council initiated legal action four years later over a failure to comply.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know any other crime that would inflict a punishment like this on an individual,\u201d Farrelly says sitting at his dining table. Behind him, a painting of a beach is mounted on the wall.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m almost 74, and I\u2019m facing a long discussion here about which of us moves out, either myself and my wife into a rented place, or Conor and his young family. It\u2019s horrendous.\u201d<\/p>\n

He believes the \u201cpunishment didn\u2019t have to be this\u201d, saying there are \u201chundreds of solutions\u201d short of demolishing the extension, such as partial demolition. However, alternative proposals have been rejected by the council.<\/p>\n

\u201cI never believed that such an outcome could happen,\u201d he says. \u201cWhat good does it do to put us out on the road?<\/p>\n

\u201cI laid above in the bed for nights after it [the judgment], thinking: \u2018Am I going to end up in jail\u2019, because it\u2019s a criminal offence. I\u2019m in contempt of court if I don\u2019t knock it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now retired, Farrelly had a number of different companies, providing business, accounting and agricultural consultancy services, he says.<\/p>\n

He says he is not a \u201crich man\u201d, saying: \u201cI haven\u2019t money to pay the fees to be honest with you,\u201d referencing the judge\u2019s decision to grant the council its legal fees against Farrelly.<\/p>\n

He believes the costs associated with demolishing the extension could reach \u20ac300,000, saying: \u201cI don\u2019t have it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked if the demolition of an illegally-built house in Bohermeen, Co Meath<\/a>, has influenced his thinking, Farrelly says: \u201cI can\u2019t even read about that. It\u2019s raw, isn\u2019t it.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, he says his case is different, claiming he has \u201cfollowed from day one the dictates and the requests of the county council\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery time they asked us for plans, we gave them,\u201d he says, adding that he facilitated inspections \u201cevery time\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve obeyed the rules all my life. I was in court a couple of times for no tax, perhaps, on the car, maybe for dangerous driving once 30 years ago, you know. I\u2019m a very ordinary person.\u201d<\/p>\n

He claims he was told by a council official during multiple inspections throughout the works that it was an exempted development, saying the enforcement notice taped to his window in 2020 came \u201ccompletely out of the blue\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf there is an impression out there that I was trying to bully my way through the system, trying to evade or bypass the system, I wasn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom the start I sought advice. I followed the directions on the guidance of the county council. I have no idea why, in March 2020, they changed their minds,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Asked if he hopes his High Court appeal will be successful, he says: \u201cHow can I be hopeful after following the rules as I saw them?\u201d<\/p>\n

Then asked if he would demolish the extension should his appeal fail, Farrelly says: \u201cI\u2019m almost 74. I\u2019ve obeyed the rules my whole life. I don\u2019t envisage lying on the street. I don\u2019t envisage lying in front of bulldozers.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t believe that Ireland will do that to me. I simply can\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fingal County Council was contacted for comment on Farrelly\u2019s claims and his appeal. <\/p>\n

\u201cAs the matter remains before the courts, Fingal County Council has no further comment to make,\u201d a spokesman said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cI just finished that,\u201d Philip Farrelly says, pointing to a copy of Leo Tolstoy\u2019s War and Peace. The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":399470,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3],"tags":[9,10,24443,52,18,13,14,10410,6,10476,19,17,11,12,15,16,5,81954,7,8],"class_list":["post-399469","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-breaking-news","tag-breakingnews","tag-circuit-court","tag-dublin","tag-eire","tag-featured-news","tag-featurednews","tag-fingal-county-council","tag-headlines","tag-high-court","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-latest-news","tag-latestnews","tag-main-news","tag-mainnews","tag-news","tag-sutton","tag-top-stories","tag-topstories"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116277766237177013","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/399469","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=399469"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/399469\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/399470"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=399469"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=399469"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=399469"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}