Another twist in Ballinlass family land row as man sent to prison

THE long-running and increasingly bitter Ballin­lass, Dunmore, family land dispute took another twist this week when one of the main protagonists was sentenced to three months in prison. Basil Glynn had to be restrained by Gardai and escorted from Tuam Court when he interrupted proceedings and accused his adversary Pat Heffernan of lying. Ann Fallon Glynn, a mother of five and a teacher in Dunmore, narrowly avoided accompanying her husband in the prison van after she assured Judge Browne that she would try and sit down with her family and sort out the dispute once and for all. This was the 11th time the saga has come before Tuam Court and aspects of it have also been threshed out in the Circuit Court in Galway. Judge Browne said he was sick and tired of it and made repeated warnings that both husband and wife would serve time if they did not agree to mediation. Earlier Courts were told that the background to the dispute was that the father of five sisters, John Fallon, had divided up his property between them in 2005. He also gave his daughter Ann and son-in-law, Basil Glynn, permission to build a substantial shed on the property but when the land was divided between the five sisters, this shed ended up on another sisterâ€â„¢s property. In an attempt to get all parties back around the negotiating table the Judge offered to suspend Basil Glynnâ€â„¢s sentence but Mr Glynn adamantly refused to sign a bond to keep the peace and continued to interrupt the court. A one stage he shouted that it should be a certain solicitor involved in the dispute who should be going to prison, not him.[private] Judge Browne was particularly incensed when he learned that Glynn had applied for planning permission to build on land that did not belong to him but to Pat Heffernanâ€â„¢s partner Dolores Fallon. Ann Fallon Glynn said the division of her fatherâ€â„¢s property was deeply unfair. She had looked after her father and farmed his land through five pregnancies. All she wanted was what was fair and to be able to sit down with her family and iron out their differences. Pat Heffernan told the Court that they had hoped a final settlement could be reached after their last appearance in Court. He and his partner Dolores were willing to swap the shed Basil Glynn built on their property for another piece of land he owned. In this way they could avoid contact with each other. Basil Glynn interrupted this saying he wouldnâ€â„¢t agree to the swap of the particular piece of land they were suggesting. Heffernan said he thought they had reached an agreement which was fair to both parties but the Glynns wouldnâ€â„¢t formalise it. He accused Basil Glynn of moving cattle in and out of the disputed shed and storing machinery, hay and silage there without permission. â€Å“The shed is on our property but weâ€â„¢re willing to give it to them if they will enter into an agreement. If they do that weâ€â„¢re more than willing to give them the shed,â€Â he said. However, he added that the shed had been built illegally on their property and Glynn even applied for planning permission to extend it, even though he didnâ€â„¢t own the site. This was very frustrating and his health was suffering as a result of all the aggravation. Basil Glynnâ€â„¢s solicitor had not responded to six or seven letters they had sent recently regarding the matter and seeking a compromise. He couldnâ€â„¢t understand why the couple couldnâ€â„¢t reach a compromise with them and they could all live in peace. Judge Browne got so exasperated he decided to send Basil and Ann Glynn to prison, saying it might bring them to their senses. This was the 11th time the matter had come before him and he was sick and tired of it all. He had given them chance after chance but it kept coming back over and over again. He said he would give the parties ten minutes to come up with a compromise or the couple would be going to prison. However, no compromise was reached in the break in proceedings. Ann Fallon Glynn said she was prepared to sit down with her sister Dolores and work something out, adding it was only when people outside the family got involved the trouble started. She said she was now 40 and had looked after her fatherâ€â„¢s land for 14 years and it was unjust for her family to treat her in this way and let her down like this. At this stage Basil Glynn interrupted again, saying he was sick of all the lies. Judge Browne called him â€Å“thickâ€Â and he was going to jail. â€Å“Iâ€â„¢m not a fraud, this man is,â€Â Glynn shouted, pointing at Heffernan. Heffernan said heâ€â„¢d tried umpteen times to reason with Basil but he wouldnâ€â„¢t agree. Judge Browne adjourned the case until March to give one last chance for a solution to be found. Ann Fallon Glynn was allowed go free but Basil Glynn refused to sign a bond and was sent to prison for three months. [/private]