Tag Archives: Michael Lowry

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The Lowry tapes.

They’re very sweary

Michael Lowry: “Anybody who was legally acting for [Denis] O’Brien or me or what have you, were forced to deliver whatever they have, right. Now, that meant that [Christopher] Vaughan’s files had to be sent over. And Vaughan had fucking comments on the files. That means that [Carter Ruck solicitor] Ruth Collard’s comments came over and they were on the files.

Now, some of the comments that are on the file are attributed to you. In other words, it’s Vaughan saying that you said this or you said that. Correct. Now what the High Court case is about at the moment is that O’Brien is trying to stop them, eh, files — or any references to them — being put into the tribunal, because they are not coming over as witnesses. That’s what the High Court case is about.

So — either O’Brien’s side or us — there’s nobody trying to fucking piss on you. In fact, Denis, myself, Baldy — anybody will be going in — will be saying that you were paid 150, that you were fucking entitled to it, and that you got it, end of story.”

 

Michael Lowry taped in September 2004 speaking to Denis O’Brien’s land agent Kevin Phelan.

Baldy, anyone?

Earlier: Michael Lowry Writes

 

You may remember Michael Lowry’s worthless land in Wigan.

Last week, the Independent TD said he didn’t declare his co-ownership of a 22-acre site outside Wigan in the UK to the register of members’ interests in the Dail because it had no value. All land worth over €13,000 is supposed to be declared.
Yesterday, the Irish Examiner‘s Conor Ryan posed as a potential buyer and made a bid for the land.

He reported how he contacted Lowry’s agent and made an offer of £300,000 per acre.

He said he was told the whole site could fetch up to €6.7million.

The agent also told him he believed the greenbelt stretch of land would eventually get permission for residential use.

Mr Ryan reported:
 He said it was in the region of what was acceptable in a poor market. 
“[With the £300,000 offer], you are talking about development of 12 [houses] to the acre… So you are talking about £25,000 a plot which, let’s be honest about it, that is cheap. If you can get it for £300,000 an acre you are doing well. But everything has got a price,” he said.
When the agent was contacted later to explain the true context of the original call, he said there was an agricultural value of £4,000 an acre (€110,000 in total) but, as with any investment, there was a speculative “hope value” linked to its likely rezoning.
He said 18 of the 22 acres jointly owned by Mr Lowry and Liam Carroll were suitable for development and had road access to an adjoining estate.
In September, the key adjoining landowners put a proposal to Wigan Council for the whole area to be included in plans for 2,300 houses. The submission said the other landowners were in favour of development. Mr Lowry did not comment.

Mr Lowry went on Tipp FM this morning to take issue with Mr Ryan’s story.

This is a transcript of the interview, which has been tweeted by Mr Ryan:

Mr Ryan has since clarified his position on his twitter stream.

More as we get it

UPDATE: Lowry Amends Dail Register To Include Wigan Lands (TippFM)

(Photocall Ireland)

I am asking you, dear reader, to do something about that. If you believe that Michael Lowry — asserted to be “profoundly corrupt” by the Moriarty tribunal and a tax cheat by the Revenue Commissioners — is telling the God honest truth, then ignore the following.
This is how you complain. It must be in writing.
“Subject to section five of the Ethics Act, I wish to make a complaint about Michael Lowry’s registerable interests with respect to undisclosed lands near Wigan.”
Sign it and post it to Mr Kieran Coughlan, Clerk of the Dail, Houses of the Oireachtas, Kildare Street, Dublin 2.
That’s all you have to do. The clerk will then forward the complaint to the Committee of Members’ Interests of the Dail who have the option to send it to the Standards Commission.
The commission can then initiate an investigation to find out if the 20 acres are worth more than €13,000 and should have been disclosed.

 

Stop Giving Out About Lowry And Make An Official Complaint Instead (Elaine Byrne, Sunday Independent)

 

Previously: Michael Lowry’s Worthless Land

Pic via Kevin Killick @queev

Today’s Irish Examiner, reports that Michael Lowry co-owns an undeclared 25-acre piece of land outside Wigan, which could be worth up to €10 million if a planned rezoning goes ahead, as expected, next year.

Since 2003, the site has been registered in the names of Mr Lowry and his business partner Liam Carroll.

But the Examiner claims the property has not appeared on Mr Lowry’s register of members interests in the Dail.

It also reported on the site’s significance in relation to the Moriarty Tribunal and Denis O’Brien. The tribunal found that money given to property agent Kevin Phelan to find the site “was instead part of a larger settlement reached between O’Brien and Mr Lowry, on one side, and Mr Phelan on the other”.

Michael Lowry went on Tipp FM this morning to give his side of the story with broadcaster Seamus Martin. It followed an interview with Conor Ryan of the Irish Examiner, the author of today’s story.

Seamus Martin: Michael Lowry, good morning.

Michael Lowry: “Good morning, Seamus.”

Martin: “So, this land, how did you come by part-ownership of this land?”

Lowry: “Well, Seamus, it would be a great story if it was accurate. First of all, as your contributor (Conor Ryan) there has said, Liam Carroll and I had a company, called Vineacre, in the UK. And that company had the option on a number of parcels of land in that area. We retained those options for a number of years and then decided that the options, when they came up for renewal, that it was too expensive to renew them and the risk factor involved in renewing those options would be too great. So that’s the reason the company was dissolved, because the principle element of trading within that company was the options to that land.”

Martin: “Was the idea, in acquiring those options, was the idea that there would be a rezoning?”

Lowry: “No. Well, there was…At that stage, it was generally perceived that there was a need for a development in that area. (coughs) Excuse me. But rezoning hadn’t been discussed at that particular stage. So what happened is, we allowed Vineacre to be dissolved and while we had Vineacre in our possession, I always recorded Vineacre on my register of interests in the Dail…”

Martin: “As you said, yeah.”

Lowry: “Yeah. So. Yeah. So then in 2003, we dissolved Vineacre and all that was left then was this 18 acres I think it is approximately of land, around that area, which we separately purchased.”

Martin: “He (Mr Ryan) says 25?”

Lowry: “No, well it’s not 25. Seamus, I haven’t got the exact details with me but Seamus it’s definitely not 25. But we’re not going to dispute whatever it is. I think it’s 18, maximum 20. So we have that piece of land. Now the important thing to remember Seamus here is, this article has a tendancy to speculate and certainly is exaggerating because the reality is that that piece of land has sat still there for the last 11 years, we’ve had no rental income from it because it’s barren land and, to use his own phrase, it’s been reclaimed by nature.”

Continue reading →

But.

“L’ asks:

I have a lovely pic of Michael Lowry TD and Justin Greene MCD outside Bruxelles [off Grafton Street, Dublin]. Of any interest for the week that’s in it for both people?

 

Should we publish the Lowry/MCD-just-two-smashing-gentlemen-having-the-chat-sure-where-would-you-get-it-at-all-at-all photo.

Or just post it on Boards.ie Or not.

YOU decide.

Lines close at 4pm.

UPDATE: photo taken in Spring.

Lowry says he intends running in the next general election. He says that despite all the “public humiliation” he has had to endure, he has managed to build up a local political organisation, the “Lowry Team”, with eight councillors, including his son Micheál.

“If I’m knocked over by a bus, it won’t be the end of the Lowry Team. The Lowry Team will go on in Tipperary.”

Welcome to Lowryland (Irish Times)

(Photocall Ireland)