By: Michael O’FarrellÂ
Investigations Editor in London
Disgraced developer Tom McFeely has refused to apologise to Stephanie Meehan – the grieving Priory Hall widow who lost her partner Fiachra to suicide.
The former IRA hunger striker at the centre of the dispute over the firetrap apartment complex in Dublin instead went into a bizarre, unprintable rant against Ms Meehan, when confronted by the Irish Mail on Sunday in London this week.
The hugely controversial figure also: Denied he had anything to do with the €200,000 found under the floorboards of the bathroom in his former Ailesbury Road mansion Suggested that he expects to be framed for ‘money laundering’ over the mystery cash hoard.
Boasted angrily that he would never spend a day in jail in the ‘Free State’.
Attempted to distance himself from any responsibility for the Priory Hall complex, arguing that it was his company that built it.
Ms Meehan’s plangent letter to Enda Kenny about her personal tragedy has been widely credited with finally stirring the Government into moving to address the plight of the Priory Hall residents.
And her brave appearance on the Late Late Show has also made her a household name, turning her into a figurehead for all those whose lives have been destroyed by the Priory Hall scandal.
‘I just can’t let Fiachra die in vain,’ she told host Ryan Tubridy. ‘He obviously was just pushed to that,’ she said of her partner’s suicide.
‘He was the last person anybody would ever expect to take his own life by suicide. He was the kindest, kindest person and he loved life and he loved me and he had everything to live for.’
But given the opportunity to respond by the MoS, Mr McFeely aggressively refused to apologise or accept any responsibility for the death of Mr Daly who left two young children – seven-year-old Oisin and two-year-old Cerys – behind.
‘For what?’ Mr Feely asked when asked if he felt sorry for Ms Meehan. ‘What do you want me to say about her?’ The Priory Hall developer – who, the MoS today reveals, channelled millions through a secret offshore company that is refusing to return the money to creditors – then launched into an extraordinarily insensitive tirade against the grieving widow.
Although he initially did not recognise Ms Meehan’s name, Mr McFeely later proved himself aware in minute detail of her partner’s tragic death on July 14.
His rant – which this newspaper yesterday made Ms Meehan aware of – and the heartless manner in which would shock the public, if it was fit to be published.
When Graham Usher, spokesman for the Priory Hall residents, was shown what Mr McFeeley had said, he shook his head in disgust.
He read through the rant more than once, noting the parts that troubled him the most.
Sitting with Michael Meehan, Stephanie’s father, who was present as Ms Meehan’s representative they talked quietly over coffee. In response to the twisted suggestions put forward by McFeely, Mr Usher simply said: ‘We are not going to dignify that with any sort of response.’
Shaking his head in disbelief, Mr Meehan said there was nothing to add. He stressed: ‘Stephanie won’t be responding to this either.’
In the 13-minute conversation, Mr McFeely also sought to distance himself completely from any responsibility for the inadequate and shoddy building standards of Priory Hall – and he joked about the money found hidden in the bathroom of his former home.
The bankrupt developer denied any knowledge of the €200,000 cash haul discovered in the palatial Ailesbury Road house.
Asked if the money was his, Mr McFeely first sought to make fun of the matter instead of responding seriously.
‘What money? Was there money under the bath?’ he asked. Asked if he was going to claim the money, Mr McFeely said no. ‘It’s not mine,’ he said when pressed.
But he then launched into another rant in which he outlined a bizarre theory that a conspiracy was being orchestrated by gardaà against him.
‘I’ll tell you what, right. I’ve as many contacts in Special Branch as the f***ing Special Branch has,’ he said.
‘I was told by a Special Branch man last Saturday that they are going to attach the money to a robbery and if I wasn’t in the country when the robbery occurred, I’ll be done for money laundering.
‘Now that’s what I was told by a f***ing Special Branch out of Harcourt Street. Listen to me. The Free State is as f***ing corrupt. It is is so corrupt it is unbelievable.’ During an often-heated interaction, he reiterated his rejection of responsibility for the Priory Hall scandal.
‘Listen, the apartments in Donaghmede, your paper, every paper in the country has got this. The home bond certificate that guarantees the structure of the integrity of the building, right. They’ve got the certificates from the architects that guarantees the building is built in compliance with the plans.
‘They have a certificate from the structural engineers certifying the build. They have a certificate from the electricians certifying the build. They have a certificate from the guy who installed the gas that it was installed as per the rules and regulations. The project manager on the job had a degree in engineering from University College Dublin and a degree in project management out of Trinity College. ‘There were three engineers on the job with him, a general foreman, there’s two surveyors, there’s a ground worker, there’s a ganger man, there’s a guy there in charge of all the water and stuff. Every paper has got that and I have not seen one paper say anything different than Tom McFeely built Priory Hall as a fire trap.’
Pausing for breath, he added: ‘Tom McFeely did not build Priory Hall. Tom McFeely’s company did. Tom McFeely didn’t.’ When his comments were shown to Mr Usher and Mr Meehan yesterday, it came as no surprise to the pair, who have been close witnesses to what they see as his contempt for the residents.
Turning his attention to another matter, the former IRA prisoner defiantly challenged an ongoing attempt, spearheaded by a creditor, to have him jailed in Ireland for failing to pay his debts. The case is due for resumption on Tuesday with Mr McFeely due to be questioned about an Isle of Man money trail.
‘You can wallow in your own s***,’ he said of the Irish court system. ‘There’s no person in the Free State can get me in jail. There’s no way in forever and a day I am going to prison. There’s no tigers in jail for me either. None whatsoever.’ Mr McFeely declined repeated requests for a more formal interview and complained bitterly about how ‘the gutter press’ had treated his family.
‘But I can take it,’ he said. ‘I’ve got through a lot harder than this in my life. I’ve had a lot worse than this. I’ve been through a lot harder things in my life. And that’s okay.’
Mr McFeely, who has a history of violence that includes being jailed for shooting a police officer during a siege after an armed robbery and, more recently, smashing a glass to threaten a journalist who approached him in Portugal, added: ‘All these people confront me in different places. Confront is an ugly word – but, you see, if you confront someone where I come from, you get a dig in the f***ing mouth. You know? That’s what happens where I come from. You confront someone where I come from, you’ll get a dig in the f***ing ribs, you know? That’s what happens.’
