Walsh & Cassidy v Sligo County Council

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Court: High Court
• Judge: Mr. Justice McMahon
• Judgment Date: 20 December 2010
• Neutral Citation: [2010] IEHC 437
• Date: 20 December 2010

[2010] IEHC 437

THE HIGH COURT

[No. 262 P./2009]

Walsh & Cassidy v Sligo County Council

BETWEEN

EDWARD WALSH AND CONSTANCE CASSIDY

PLAINTIFFS

AND

SLIGO COUNTY COUNCIL

DEFENDANT

IRISH LAND ACT 1903

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LAND

Easements

Public rights of way - Dedication - Ingredients necessary to establish public right of way - Whether public right of way - Inferred historical dedication - Whether dedication presumed - Whether evidence of dedication by landowner - User - Evidence as to user by members of public - Whether user as of right - Applicable legal principles - Presumption or inference of dedication - Permission - Acquiescence - Obstructions - Acts of interruption - Admissions - Whether acquiescence of predecessors bound owner in fee - Capacity to dedicate land - Whether there could be dedication when the estate is held in fee tail - Nature and extent of right of way - Farquhar v Newbury Rural District Council [1909] 1 Ch 12, Folkestone Corporation v Brockman [1914] AC 338 and Williams-Ellis v Cobb [1935] 1 KB 310 considered - R (Godmanchester TC) v Environment Secretary [2007] UKHL 28, [2008] 1 AC 221 approved - Plaintiff's claim dismissed (2009/262P - McMahon J - 20/12/2010) [2010] IEHC 437

Walsh v Sligo County Council

Facts: The proceedings related to a disputed public right of way. The plaintiffs bought Lissadell House in 2003 from the last of the Gore-Booth family and they locked the gates to the Main Avenue. The issue arose as to the evidence of public use, their creation by statute or dedication, whether the Court could conclude that on the balance of probability the owner dedicated the rights to the public, which the public accepted or that a local custom existed from time immemorial. The Court also considered the presumption or inference of dedication and how a protestor could rebut it.

Held by McMahon J. that the Court would dismiss the claim of the plaintiff and make a declaration that the roadways on the map annexed to the judgment of the Court were subject to rights of way in favour of the public. It was clear that the plaintiffs were attempting to do work that was commendable and aesthetically sensitive and of benefit to the whole area of Sligo. Evidence of long user "as of right" created a public right of way except in truly exceptional cases. When the law inferred dedication from long users it was consciously engaging in a fiction, but this was the current state of the law.

Reporter: E.F.

WALSH & CASSIDY v SLIGO COUNTY COUNCIL

Judgment Index

I.	General Introduction and the Defendant's Claim	Paragraph 1
II.	History of Lissadell	Paragraph 8
III.	The Recent Facts	Paragraph 12
	Lissadell Action Group 1	Paragraph 17
IV.	The Plaintiffs' Opening	Paragraph 21
V.	The Law on Public Rights of Way	Paragraph 28
VI.	The Legal Principles Applicable	Paragraph 31
VII.	The Evidence Relied Upon by the Defendant from which Dedication is Inferred	Paragraph 32
(i)	User: The Law	Paragraph 32
(ii)	The Presumption/Inference of Dedication	Paragraph 37
(iii)	The Belief Test	Paragraph 43
(iv)	Burden on the Protestor	Paragraph 44
VIII.	Evidence as to User	Paragraph 50
(i)	Ius Spatiendi	Paragraph 51
(ii)	The Defendant's Evidence Relating to User	Paragraph 56
(iii)	The Plaintiffs' Evidence as to User	Paragraph 63
(iv)	Conclusions on User	Paragraph 80
IX.	Permission?	Paragraph 86
X.	Acquiescence?	Paragraph 108
(i)	Gates and Other Obstacles	Paragraph 111
(ii)	Notices	Paragraph 125
(iii)	Removal of Obstructions	Paragraph 135
(a)	1993 - Rubble at Forge	Paragraph 136
(b)	2002/03 - Removal of Tree by Sir Josslyn	Paragraph 138
(iv)	Admissibility of Statements of the Present Sir Josslyn	Paragraph 143
XI.	Exceptions to the Hearsay Rule	Paragraph 151
XII.	Inclusion in Sligo Development Plan 1967	Paragraph 168
	The County Development Plans	Paragraph 168
XIII.	Expenditure of Public Monies on Estate Roadways	Paragraph 183
(i)	General Liability for the Maintenance of Highways at Common Law	Paragraph 183
(ii)	Presentments of Grand Jury: Presentments 1813 - 1896	Paragraph 190
(iii)	The...