The Fifth Court - DSBA Legal Podcast of the Year

E51 The Fifth Court

Hosts Peter Leonard BL and Mark Tottenham BL talk to Irish Times journalist, Ronan McGreevy, co-author a new book about the 1983 IRA kidnapping of Don Tidey called, 'The Kidnapping: A hostage, a desperate manhunt and a bloody rescue that shocked Ireland'.

Now, 40 years after the event, the book comes as a timely reminder of the attempts made by the IRA to subvert the Irish State. The kidnapping also involved the murder by the IRA of two men, one a member of the Irish defence forces as well as a young Garda recruit, just three months into his training. No one has ever been convicted of these deaths.

The three discuss some of the legal issues arising from the number of trials involving the alleged kidnappers and we get a sense as to why no one was brought to justice.

As always Peter and Mark also discuss three new cases from the Decisis Casebook.

• A case involving a house that was let as a guest house but that was subsequently sub let to 36 refugees. Accommodating these refugees involved knocking down walls etc, without the house owners permission and without official planning permission. High Court judge Liam Kennedy found in favour of the sub-lessors!
• Harty V Harty is a case involving the sale of a family firm where an initial substantial sum was paid out on a transfer of ownership, but there was an outstanding €10m to be paid to Dr. Edmond Harty if there were a sale. The remaining shareholders argued there hadn't been a sale, but the court held there had.
• A third case involves a case where a borrower was evicted by a mortgagee who won an order of possession in the Circuit Court. The appellant had been physically removed from the property but appealed the earlier order. However the High Court adjudged that the eviction was appropriate and lawful.

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E81 The Fifth Court

Supported by Clio Legal Software

Hosts Mark Tottenham BL and Peter Leonard BL spoke to Arko Ganguli, co-founder of Letigify, an AI powered solution using audio-video authentication that allows clients to notarize documents online remotely from anywhere, without the hassle of visiting a notary public in person.

Arko is a trained lawyer and a legal consultant for over eleven years, working with various clients and organisations in different sectors and domains. He's also a certified mediator and a design thinking practitioner, with a passion for changing the way law works in the world, enabling legal teams and their clients to carry out their business more efficiently. He's eager to explore innovative ideas in legal tech, and to collaborate with other entrepreneurs, investors, and mentors in the field.

And as always, our two hosts discuss three new cases from the Decisis.ie website

• An asylum case taken by a Ghanian national who claimed he was gay. IPAT questioned his bona fides.
• A family law case where foster parents tried to adopt a fostered child who had complex medical needs, but the birth mother withheld consent.
• A defamation case involving Google, YouTube (owned by Google) that was taken too late to join them as defendants.

Arko recommends 'Judgement at Nuremberg' a 1961 American epic legal drama film directed by Stanley Kramer,

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E59 The Fifth Court

The Future of Legal Practice Summit, Part 2, at The Law Society of Ireland

Our award winning podcasters, Peter Leonard, BL and Mark Tottenham BL, are joined by solicitors Sonia McEntee (Cavan based) and David Peters (based in Nenagh, Tipperary) to discuss the very real threat to the legal profession in rural Ireland. In this second part of their interview from the Legal Practice Summit they tackle issues such as access to justice as local courts are closed. Peter seems to hark back to the Tipperary town court, that was warmed by a turf fire, but sadly now closed! David Peters correlates the closure of local courthouses with the ending of local legal practices, leading to 'legal deserts' as he calls them. There's also some frustration with the rising level of regulation required of smaller practices. These views lead on to some terrific questions from the floor of the Summit...with so much engagement the session had to be extended. Terrific.

And as always our dynamic duo start with three recent cases from the Decisis.ie casebook

• The first case involves an application to annul a bankruptcy but an action requiring a 'duty of candour' which may not have been met.
• The second case involved a Notary Public and the requirement that they be 'available'. But how available is available?
• The third case is about a planning issue in County Meath, involving the 2014 County Development Plan.

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E63 The Fifth Court

With two referendums (*see note below) looming, hosts Mark Tottenham BL and Peter Leonard BL invited two top law academics to studio to discuss the issues involved. Deirdre McGowan of TU Dublin and Maebh Harding of UCD are two of the authors of a book, 'Family Law in Context', a textbook for those wishing to study the latest developments in family law. Before the two women discuss the referendums they give an update on developments in family law in Ireland (e.g. very few people seek nullity any more). They say that a 2 year wait for divorce is still too long. And they discuss surrogacy, recently highlighted by the 'Rosanna Davidson case'.

The hosts also discuss three cases from the Decisis.ie casebook

• A case about the wording of a will involving alternate executors
• A very long running case involving the spraying of commercially grown apples by a potato farmer adjoining the apple farm.
• A planning case about the claimed overshadowing of a passive solar house and the role of an expert in his own case.

*P.S. Scholars often use referenda as the plural for referendum. This choice is a hypercorrection—it may sound like proper Latin, but it is not. Referendums is always the correct choice. However, we maintain that there is value in using referendums for multiple events and referenda for multiple propositions.

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E118 The Fifth Court featuring retired judge Mary Fahy

Judge Mary Fahy retired from the Irish District Court on January 31, 2025, concluding a distinguished 31-year judicial career. Appointed to the bench in the early 1990s, she served in various jurisdictions, including Dublin and Galway, and was known for her commitment to accessible justice and her forthright approach to the law.Law

Career Highlights

• The ‘C’ Case: In the late 1990s, Judge Fahy presided over the high-profile 'C' case, involving a 13-year-old girl who became pregnant after rape and sought to travel abroad for an abortion. Judge Fahy ruled in favor of the girl's right to travel, a decision later upheld by the High Court. This case attracted significant attention and was the only instance where she recalled receiving hate mail during her career.
• Aran Islands Court Sittings: Demonstrating her dedication to community-based justice, Judge Fahy traveled by ferry to Inis Mór three times a year to hold court sessions in both English and Irish, addressing cases from all three Aran Islands. She believed these sittings were vital for ensuring that island residents felt connected to the justice system.
• Golfgate Trial: In 2022, she presided over the 'Golfgate' trial, swiftly dismissing charges against former senator Donie Cassidy and others after a brief deliberation, stating that the prosecution had failed to establish a prima facie case.

As always guests are asked for their (sometimes) legally based recommendations for books or movies. Judge Fahy proposed the movie Fargo and a book , The Coast Road, by Alan Murrin

The episode also includes recent important cases drawn from the Decisis casebook. These are brought to you thanks to Charltons Solicitors and Collaborative Practitioners

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