New twist in Ashford sale

New twist in proposed sale of Ashford Castle

Claire Egan

A TWIST in the tale is on the horizon, as the widow of a Wall Street financier has claimed that she owns a stake in Ashford Castle and a High Court action is now being taken against the five-star hotel over the disputed stake.
Kathleen Connor, wife of the late John F Connor, who sold three units in 1985 is claiming that she owns a further unit within the hotel and is now seeking a declaration from the court in her favour.
The news came to light as property developer, Mr Gerry Barrett was poised to take ownership of the 85-room, five-star castle for €50 million. Mrs Connor wrote to Ashford Castle about the matter earlier this year.
Mr David Barrett, Development Director of Edward Holdings, told The Mayo News earlier this month that they would not take ‘official ownership’ of the castle until February 2008.
Connor’s legal team are due to petition the court today (Tuesday) to fast-track the case into the Commercial Court which deals with multi-million-euro disputes. Edward Holdings, under the directorship of Mr Gerry Barrett, were unavailable to comment on the current status of the sale proceedings when contacted by The Mayo News last night (Monday).
The ownership of the famed Mayo castle is spread amongst a consortium of Irish-American investors.