My grandfather - my father's father, Kevin Kelly, late of 29 Crotty Avenue, Walkinstown, Dublin 12, Republic of Ireland - died on 6 October 2011.  This is a collection of documents relating to my appeal to the Irish Supreme Court against the order of 23 April 2012 of Iarfhlaith O'Neill, a Judge of the Irish High Court, "striking out the caveat" I filed at the Probate Office of the High Court on 12 December 2011.  My father's sisters - Marian Delaney of 8 Highfield Downs, Swords, County Dublin, and Siobhan Keogh of 29 St John's Wood, Clondalkin, Dublin 22 - had applied to the High Court "for an Order setting aside the Caveat entered by Patrick Kelly on the 12th December 2011 in the Estate and restraining Patrick Kelly from lodging any further Caveats in the estate and for the costs of these proceedings and for such further Order as [the High Court] deems fit".  

As Lord Justice Lindley of the English Court of Appeal explained in Moran v. Place [1896] P 214, at pages 216:

"A caveat is not a notice to any opponent in particular.  It is a notice to the registrar or officer of the Court not to let anything be done by anybody in the matter of the will, or the goods of the deceased, without notice to the person who lodges the caveat".

I wanted Ms Delaney and Ms Keogh to prove the alleged will of 9 February 2006 of Kevin Kelly per testes, (i.e., with witnesses) because, in my opinion, my grandfather was not in 2006 "of sound disposing mind".  As I told the Supreme Court at a hearing on 6 July 2012:

"My grandfather was an alcoholic.  He was 90 years old when he died and he suffered from alcohol-related brain damage in addition to other medical conditions [such as liver disease and heart disease] relatable to his alcoholism.  This is not denied".  

Ms Delaney and Ms Keogh were unwilling to prove the alleged will per testes and instead applied for the "setting aside" of my caveat.  This enabled the alleged will to be proved "in common form" and not per testes.

My appeal was filed at the Supreme Court Office on 23 April 2012.


Patrick Kelly
11 Deansrath Avenue
Clondalkin
Dublin 22
Republic of Ireland