Widow of comedian Brendan Grace pursued in court over €1.1m pub business debt left behind by husband
The widow of the late entertainer Brendan Grace is being pursued in court over a €1.1m business debt he failed to pay off before his death five years ago.
Florida-based Eileen Grace is being sued personally and in her capacity as the personal representative of her husband’s estate over the debt, which relates to a loan advanced by Permanent TSB for a pub venture in Killaloe, Co Clare, in 2006.
The popular singer and comedian used the loan to buy what became known as Brendan Grace’s Bar on the town’s main street.
The business was run by his daughter Amanda and her husband. However, with the recession biting, it was put up for sale in 2011.
Permanent TSB secured a judgment for just over €1.1m against Mr Grace the following year, a debt that remained unpaid at the time of his death from lung cancer in 2019 at the age of 68.
She has claimed she was unaware of the Permanent TSB judgment at the time the estate was being disbursed
In High Court proceedings, Everyday Finance DAC, which bought the loan shortly before Mr Grace’s death, claimed it should have been paid when the estate was being administered.
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Ms Grace is contesting the case, claiming she had been unaware of the judgment secured by Permanent TSB against her late husband.
The matter came before the court yesterday when Everyday Finance had a motion for judgment in default of a defence.
However, Everyday Finance’s counsel Gary Hayes, instructed by OSM Solicitors, said the motion could be struck out on consent, with an order for his client’s costs, after a pleading was filed by Ms Grace.
The case is now likely to proceed to a trial unless a settlement is reached. The widow is being represented in the matter by barrister Keith Farry, instructed by solicitors S Duffy and Company.
The Killaloe pub was one of two invested in by Mr Grace. He had another bar, the Mad Hatter in Tequesta, south Florida. But it, too, was put up for sale, as a distressed property, in 2011.
