Start Mortgages gets injunctions against activist Ben Gilroy

Start Mortgages has secured temporary High Court injunctions preventing anti-eviction activist Ben Gilroy arresting any of its employees or agents.

The orders, granted on Thursday, prevent Mr Gilroy, who contested this year’s European Parliament elections, arresting, restraining or assaulting any of Start’s current or former officers, agents, lawyers or employees.

He is also restrained from publishing or posting online any information relating to home addresses or property of any of Start’s current or former employees, officers and lawyers. The injunctions also apply to any other person with knowledge of them.

Start Mortgages DAC sought the injunctions over videos posted on social media in recent days where Mr Gilroy alleges that Start is involved in a fraud and calls for people acting for or working with the fund to be arrested.

Garrett Flynn BL, for Start, told Ms Justice Leonie Reynolds on Thursday it rejects all the fraud allegations made against it by the defendant.

Counsel said Mr Gilroy states in the video he intends to “get a posse together” and “start arresting these people in a systemic way,” over the coming weeks. Start is concerned as the names of current and former employees of the company have been posted on social media, he said.

Mr Gilroy, it is claimed, was inciting people to form a “mob” and to perform citizens arrests of Start’s employees and lawyers in an attempt by Mr Gilroy to intimidate and harass Start’s representatives.

The court heard Mr Gilroy is contesting an application by Start for repossession orders in respect of his family home. Those proceedings, which relate to alleged default on repayments on a loan for €310,000 which Start claims it advanced to Mr Gilroy and his wife in 2006, stand adjourned before Trim Circuit Court.

Start claims it is owed €512,000 by Mr Gilroy and his wife and the last repayment made by them was in February 2011. It also claims Mr Gilroy attended at its offices last May and seized the original mortgage and title documents held by it concerning his home.

The taking of those documents lead to Start bringing High Court proceedings against Mr Gilroy seeking the return of the material. Start also claims Mr Gilroy is purporting to give legal advice on the videos which he is not entitled to do.

The injunctions were granted on an ex-parte basis (one side only represented) by Ms Justice Reynolds who returned the matter to Friday. The judge said she was satisfied from the material before her to make the orders.

From documents put before the court, Mr Gilroy has acknowledged the Director of Public Prosecutions has stated there is no case in fraud against Start in respect of the matters he complains about, she noted.