Former Tommy Hilfiger shop in Earl Street to be sold at auction

The former Tommy Hilfiger store in Earl Street will be amongst one of a number of local buildings going under the hammer at the next Allsop auction in the RDS on July 9^th.

The building at 7 Earl Street, beside McKenna Man, has a reserve of between €350,000 and €375,000.

It has been closed in recent years with the sale including just the basement and ground floor units.

Also going under the hammer on the day will be an office at 6 Anne Street, which has a reserve of between €90,000 and €110,000 and development land at 39, 41 and 43 Quay Street – beside Brodigan’s Londis store – which has a reserve of €25,000.

The Gallagher Property building in John Street, Ardee, will also be sold on the day for a reserve ranging from €90,000 to €100,000 while Ardee Pharmacy at 1 Ashwalk Mews Ardee, will also go under the hammer for the same reserve range.

A residential auction will also take place the day before with two houses in Aisling Park going under the hammer for €20,000 and €30,000 respectively. 40 Drive One in Muirhevnamor will also be put up for auction on the day for a reserve of €20,000, as will 6 Tallansfield Manor in Tallanstown, which has a reserve not to exceed €140,000.

For further details visit www.allsop.ie

Car and van set alight in front of Tallanstown home

Tallansfield Manor

An investigation is underway after a car and van were set on fire outside a house in Tallanstown this morning.

The incident took place in Tallansfield Manor around 3.20pm with the car and Hi-ace van badly damaged, as well as the front of the house.

Three people were in the property at the time but were uninjured, with units from Ardee and Dundalk Fire Service attending the scene.

Anyone with information on the incident is asked to contact Ardee Garda Station.

Couple awarded €291,000 after dampness ruins dream home

Tallansfield Manor in Tallanstown

A local couple have been awarded €291,000 after the High Court heard their newly constructed dream home turned into a nightmare because of dampness, which eventually forced them to leave it.

Dolores and Stephen Nimmo sued Ardee-based builders Mulreid Construction Ltd over its failure to install a proper damp course on the new two-storey over basement house at Tallansfield Manor in Tallanstown.

The couple paid Mulreid €326,000 to build the house, which they moved into in May 2006.

According to The Irish Independent, the court was told that instead of a proper damp course, a thin plastic barrier similar to a radon barrier, was put in during construction of the foundation with the result that dampness seeped into the house.

Judgment was entered last year against Mulreid Construction in absence of a defence and yesterday the case came before Mr Justice John Hedigan for assessment of damages. There was no appearance for Mulreid yesterday.

The judge said it was the type of case relating to poor quality building that was too often before the courts. It was supposed to be the Nimmos’ dream home but it turned out to be a nightmare and he was sorry for the trouble they had endured.

He awarded them €131,609 for the cost of repairing the damp problem along with €160,000 for trauma and suffering.

Mrs Nimmo told the court that she, her husband and three children had moved from Dublin to Tallanstown into what they expected would be a dream home.

The house was very costly to heat and there were a number of other problems which Mrs Nimmo brought to the attention of Mulreid’s Shane Rogers who himself lived in one of the houses in the small Tallanstown development.

He initially said he would deal with the problems but eventually refused to engage with her and she decided to take legal action.

Mrs Nimmo said the family lived in the house for six years before deciding to move out.

They employed a building surveyor who inspected the house in 2008 and found extensive damp mould growth in the basement.

The expert, who said a radon barrier type plastic membrane rather than a proper damp course was installed in the house, believed the damp problem could be rectified at a total cost of €131,609.