{"id":415611,"date":"2026-04-24T18:13:13","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T18:13:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/415611\/"},"modified":"2026-04-24T18:13:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T18:13:13","slug":"judge-refuses-debt-firms-application-for-possession-of-mcgrattans-pub-in-dublin-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/415611\/","title":{"rendered":"Judge refuses debt firm\u2019s application for possession of McGrattan\u2019s pub in Dublin \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

A High Court<\/a> judge has refused a debt servicing firm\u2019s application for possession of McGrattan\u2019s pub in central Dublin<\/a> on foot of an alleged \u20ac1 million debt.<\/p>\n

Judge Liam Kennedy found Mars Capital Finance failed to properly serve legal papers on Florida-registered G-Mac Holdings Limited, a single-purpose vehicle whose only assets are the freehold interest in McGrattan\u2019s Public House at 76\/77 Fitzwilliam Lane and some parking spaces around Merrion Square<\/a>. <\/p>\n

The judge adjourned the case after reaching his decision on Friday.<\/p>\n

Mars Capital sought possession of the pub on the basis of an alleged default by G-Mac Holdings on loans advanced by Bank of Ireland<\/a> in 2014 and 2023.<\/p>\n

Mars Capital purchased the loans from the bank and alleged G-Mac Holdings repeatedly defaulted on repayments and failed to pay the total balance on demand in July 2024.<\/p>\n

No representative of G-Mac Holdings appeared for the two-day hearing at Dublin\u2019s High Court this week. The case was also against the occupants of the McGrattan\u2019s pub premises: BBB Taverns Limited and Gallery Entertainment Limited.<\/p>\n

Lawyers for the occupant companies argued the debt firm failed to properly serve legal papers on G-Mac Holdings in Florida. Barristers Gary McCarthy and Keith Farry, instructed by O\u2019Sullivan & Associates, contended prior court permission must be secured before serving a company outside of Ireland. <\/p>\n

Mars Capital\u2019s lawyers contended the company had been properly served, including via its place of business in Dublin.<\/p>\n

\"\"Kerry Group CEO on the impact of Middle East conflict, AI and drive to keep bread fresher for longer<\/p>\n

The judge\u2019s refusal to grant possession on Friday is not the end of the disputes between Mars Capital and the McGrattan\u2019s pub.<\/p>\n

Publican Dan McGrattan, a director of G-Mac Holdings and the occupant companies, has issued a petition for the winding up of G-Mac Holdings on grounds it allegedly owes him \u20ac1.5 million arising out of a \u20ac92,000 mortgage debenture from 2011. <\/p>\n

His petition, advanced \u201cexclusively in his capacity as a creditor\u201d, alleges the company has \u201cno effective management presence within the State\u201d, is unable to pay its debts, and should be wound up for \u201cjust and equitable\u201d reasons. <\/p>\n

He sent a letter of demand for payment of \u20ac1.5 million last November, but, he claims, this letter \u201chas not been returned\u201d and the sum has not been paid.<\/p>\n

McGrattan claims his debt is secured as a \u201cfirst-ranking\u201d charge over McGrattan\u2019s pub and that Mars Capital\u2019s purported charge over the property is invalid.<\/p>\n

Mars Capital\u2019s senior counsel, Eamon Marray instructed by Healy Pentony Solicitors, has said his client will oppose the petition as it is \u201ceffectively an abuse of the process of the court\u201d. <\/p>\n

The petition is due back before the High Court next month. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A High Court judge has refused a debt servicing firm\u2019s application for possession of McGrattan\u2019s pub in central…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":415612,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[28566,72,61,60,1634],"class_list":{"0":"post-415611","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business","8":"tag-bob","9":"tag-business","10":"tag-ie","11":"tag-ireland","12":"tag-media"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/415611","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=415611"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/415611\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/415612"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=415611"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=415611"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=415611"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}