The Barne Estate has been in the Moore family since 1654 when the English adventurer Richard Moore acquired the rich farmland in the Golden Vale of Co Tipperary after the Cromwellian conquests.
Through all the tumult of Irish history since, the 751-acre estate has remained in the Moore family. The original home, built in 1730 and extending to almost 17,000sq ft, had a French chateau-style roof added in the 1870s.
It was a wrench for the incumbent, Richard Thomson-Moore, to put the estate up for sale after it had spent more than 350 years in the family.
John Magnier leaving the High Court in Dublin last July during the hearing. Photograph: Collins Courts
“I found it very difficult. I thought it was sad to think that I’d probably be the last member of the family to walk out the gates of Barne, and that would be something which I’d have to bear,” he said.
The catalyst for the decision was the birth of his son, Teddy, five years ago. The boy was diagnosed with cerebral palsy and epilepsy and he requires 24-hour care.
[ John Magnier loses high-profile court case over Co Tipperary estateOpens in new window ]
Mr Thomson-Moore’s wife, Anna, told the High Court during the long-running Barne Estate case that they were older parents and neither of them had a large extended family in Ireland. This meant she had to get friends from abroad to come to Ireland to mind Teddy during the case. By contrast, she has a large family in Australia.
“So I guess the obvious solution to us became to relocate to Australia and to give him that network from an early age so that he’s not left without care and support when we’ve died,” she said in evidence to Mr Justice Max Barrett in the High Court.
In addition, Australia operates a system called the National Disability Insurance Scheme, which allows the parents of a disabled child to purchase therapeutic interventions.
The care provided to a child like Teddy, who is an Australian citizen, is such that he has already been taken to Australia three times in his young life.
The decision to emigrate led to Mr Thomson-Moore putting the Barne Estate up for sale in July 2023 through estate agent Savills, with John Stokes as the local agent.
The estate came to the attention of billionaire businessman John Magnier, who already owns swathes of land in Co Tipperary, as it is adjacent to his own lands at Coolmore.
Mares and foals grazing at Coolmore Stud in Co Tipperary. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill
Mr Magnier visited the Barne Estate on July 17th, 2023. He asked the Thomson-Moores if they were under pressure to sell. They said they were not. He wanted to see the extent to which the Thomson-Moores were serious about selling and invited them to his home at Coolmore.
The case, in essence, hinges on the outcome of a meeting that took place there on August 22nd, 2023. Present for it were Mr Magnier, his wife Susan, auctioneer John Stokes and Mr and Mrs Thomson-Moore.
During three days of High Court evidence, Mr Magnier said the Thomson-Moores and Mr Stokes at one stage left the room to make phone calls to the trustees of the Barne Estate in Jersey and then to Mr Thomson-Moore’s sister, Alex, who is a beneficiary of the estate.
Richard Thomson-Moore and Anna Thomson-Moore arriving at the High Court. Photograph: Collins
There was a conflict of evidence between Mr Magnier and Mr Thomson-Moore as to what phone calls were made and to whom. Mr Magnier believed the seller had got the approval of the trustees in Jersey and Alex Thomson-Moore.
However, Mr Thomson-Moore denied ever calling the trustees. Instead, he said, Mr Stokes had spoken to Alex Thomson-Moore about the proposal.
Mr Stokes said he would have needed to have been “psychic” if he called the trustees as he had no phone number for them.
Anna Thomson-Moore said that at the outset of the meeting she had told Mr Magnier that any sale would subject to the approval of the trustees. Mr Magnier said he could not remember her saying that.
Mr Thomson-Moore entered into an exclusivity agreement with Mr Magnier on August 31st, requiring him to not speak to other potential buyers, an arrangement that expired on September 30th.
On September 7th, Mr Magnier, his son John Paul and Mr Stokes visited the Thomson-Moores to find out how the deal was going.
Auctioneer John Stokes outside the High Court after giving evidence in the Barne Estate case. Photograph: Collins
The Magniers and Mr Stokes left. Some time later, Mr Stokes returned with two brown envelopes for the Thomson-Moores, each containing €25,000. He described the money as a “luck penny”. Mr Magnier thought the couple were “cash-strapped” and needed financial help, with the money a thank-you for sticking to their agreement.
The Thomson-Moores were taken aback by the offer. Richard Thomson-Moore was “shocked” and thought it “untoward”. Anna Thomson-Moore, a solicitor, insisted the money be returned.
Benjamin Newman, a director of the trust which holds the Barne Estate, regarded it as a “red flag” and “pure inducement”.
Far from sealing the deal as Mr Magnier hoped, it had the opposite effect.
Meanwhile, New York-based construction millionaire Maurice Regan, who had visited the farm on July 19th during initial viewings, phoned Mr Thomson-Moore on August 30th, telling him he wished to bid €16 million for the property.
Mr Thomson-Moore told him he was not involved in the sale and to talk to either Savills or Mr Stokes about it.
Maurice Regan leaves the High Court after giving evidence in the case. Photograph: Collins
During the month-long period of exclusivity with Mr Magnier, the Thomson-Moores repeatedly ignored phone calls and emails from Mr Regan, to such an extent that he thought the owners of the Barne Estate had been kidnapped.
After the exclusivity agreement expired on September 30th, Mr Regan and the Thomson-Moores started to engage with each other. On October 10th, 2023, Mr Regan emailed an offer of €22.5 million to Savills, which was accepted.
Mr Regan also indicated he was fully funded legally should any litigation arise out of the Barne Estate sale.
Mr Regan later told the court he was funding the Thomson-Moores’ defence, but only by way of a commercial loan against the value of the farm.
He took exception to being called a “dark force” by Mr Magnier’s senior counsel Paul Gallagher. He suggested that to be called such a name, by a former attorney general, was a “cheap shot” and injurious of his reputation.
“I really don’t know how I got there to be named or labelled the ‘dark force’. I’m not a party to this case, I just wanted to buy a farm,” he told the court.