Summer Recipes

ROI JUNE 16, 2019 €3.00 FREE INSIDE Dr Michael Mosley’s NEW FAST 800 SUMMER RECIPES INSIDE MAGAZINEMAGAZINE 19 by creator of the 5:2 Diet HOSPICE’S HOME SOLD TO FRIEND OF CHARITY BOSS Secret buyer paid Children ‘in fraction of value Garda who house when of Spanish house their mother By Michael O’Farrell faced sack INVESTIGATIONS EDITOR was killed’ THE secret buyer of a Spanish property, sold by Our Lady’s Hospice for a frac- By Anne Sheridan tion of its value, is a ‘family friend’ of for giving the charity’s sacked financial director. The Irish Mail on Sunday can today reveal THE three children of tragic that Mayo native Michael ‘Mitch’ Egan is Valerie French Kilroy were at the person who incorporated a secret New home when their mother died York company used to buy the hospice’s on Friday. Spanish asset – at a loss of €300,000 to the birth outside A native of Midleton, Co. Cork, publicly-funded Harold’s Cross charity. the deceased was found at an Mr Egan is from Bunaneraghtish, a tiny outhouse at the side of the townland in the Mayo parish of Ardagh, property in Kilbree, between though he has also lived in New York. Westport and Castlebar. It is He is a friend of the family of Denis of wedlock understood her five-year-old Maguire, the sacked hospice finan- boy and toddler twins were in cial director who signed off on the PAGE 4 Turn to Page 4 Turn to Page 5 JUNE 16 • 2019 The Irish Mail on Sunday 5 House sale subject of a fraud squad probe internal disciplinary procedure. He has since been arrested and questioned by gardaí investigat- ing the sale. The hospice receives around €25m from the HSE every year, as well as millions of euro more from public fundraising, donations and bequests. The sale of the Spanish property became the focus of a HSE audit after a whistleblower expressed concerns about financial affairs at the hospice a number of years ago. REPORT: How MoS revealed house was sold for fraction of value That audit found that the Aloha Lake Village home had never been From Page One records, the house at the heart of placed on the open market by the the case – No.14 Aloha Lake Village hospice, resulting in ‘a perceived controversial loss-making sale. The – was purchased by Irish woman unfair advantage or closed oppor- Spanish sale has been the subject Agnes Phelan for €364,000 in 2004. tunity to the buyer’. of a Garda fraud squad investiga- Mrs Phelan left the home to the According to the audit, there was tion for years, though no charges hospice when she died in October ‘no independent valuation sought at have been brought. 2008 and it should have resulted in any time’ for the Spanish property Contacted repeatedly by the MoS a significant windfall to the publicly and there was ‘no evidence of busi- in recent weeks, Mr Egan and his funded charity when sold. ness planning for the expenditure’ family have refused to comment. In a gated community, close to incurred. Mr Maguire has refused to answer Marbella, in the hills above the questions about any relationship he luxury Puerto Banus marina, Alo- may have with Mr Egan. ha Lake Village boasts three com- But the MoS can today reveal that munal swimming pools and is sur- COUPLE: ‘He has since been Mr Egan knows Denis Maguire and rounded by several golf courses. Deirdre his brother John, according to Mr But instead of realising a profit and Denis arrested and questioned’ Egan’s own brother. from the property, the hospice took Maguire five-and a-half years to sell it – and ended up selling it for so little that The audit concluded: ‘The proper- the charity lost €32,203. dy’s Hospice had already paid out As Head of Finance at the Dublin- ty was neither sold at market value Property was left to the The loss was incurred because, €69,703 in management fees and based hospice, Denis Maguire was nor was it made available on the in the half decade it took to sell other bills, often without adequate responsible for overseeing the sale. open market and therefore lacks charity by Irish woman the home for just €37,500, Our La- invoices to back up the payments. In the half decade that the hospice transparency and may be per- retained the home, Mr Maguire ceived as failing the arms-length Michael ‘Mitch’ Egan is also part travelled to Spain on expenses six test and significantly reducing of a network of close Mayo con- times, incurring bills of €3,620. funds available to OLH.’ temporaries that link back to the His wife, Deirdre, accompanied As a result, the hospice has now Yonkers address used to register him on five of these trips but the implemented a conflict-of-inter- the secret New York company, Sun couple paid for her flights them- est register for all executives Orange Properties. selves. The majority of these ex- and staff. A spokeswoman for the Both he and Mr Maguire are now penses cheques were signed off by hospice said this week: ‘As this being sued by the hospice, and Mr Maguire himself and the then matter has already been in the though no date has been set for head of HR, Audrey Houlihan, who public domain and is subject to a hearing, the hospice has regis- has now become CEO. As Head of Garda investigation, we are un- tered lis pendens – literally notice Finance, Mr Maguire was made able to comment any further at of a pending legal action – against company secretary of the hospice’s this time.’ Mr Maguire and Mr Egan. The corporate entity, Our Lady’s Hos- In previous statements the hos- move will hamper both men from pice & Care Services Ltd in 2005. pice has apologised for its failure disposing of property since the He was dismissed for ‘serious to have adequate financial controls lis pendens would appear during misconduct’ and ‘serious negli- in place and said these inadequa- any pre-sale conveyancing checks. gence’ in September 2016 after an cies have now been addressed. According to Spanish property COMFORT: One of the swimming pools at the Aloha complex independent investigation and an [email protected] MAIL ON SUNDAY INVESTIGATIONS EDITOR – HOT ON THE TRAIL OF ‘MITCH’ EGAN MAKING the connection ‘Mitch Egan. Do you know the guy home in Bunaneraghtish, They’d be into probably ‘From Glencullen up in Wicklow.’ between Denis Maguire, his I’m talking about?’ Knockanillaun, Co Mayo. The thoroughbreds.’ ‘Yeah, that’s right.’ brother John and Mitch/Michael ‘Yeah, yeah,’ Aidan responds, hospice has registered a pending ‘You know the Maguires I’m ‘And Mitch is your brother, right?’ Egan required a number of nodding. legal action against Michael Egan talking about – right?’ ‘That’s right, yeah.’ conversations over recent weeks. ‘Mitch from Bunaneraghtish, in (aka Mitch) at this address. I talk to ‘I heard of them,’ he responds. ‘I I explain our story to Bernard, Here are three, from this week, Co. Mayo,’ I clarify. ‘You know the his brother Padraic. heard him talking about them. I who agrees to contact Mitch. that confirm the connection. guy I’m taking about?’ don’t know them. I’m here all me ‘Yeah,’ he confirms again. ‘I don’t know nothing,’ he says life. I was never up in Dublin.’ Mitch Egan has not responded to WEDNESDAY JUNE 12 – 4.15PM. repeatedly before we even begin He agrees to contact Mitch. ‘I’ll repeated voice and text messages I tell Aidan the fact that Mitch Egan is to speak. Then he agrees to listen. tell him I was talking to you. If he from the MoS to his mobile. He also At the Rathgar home of Denis a family friend of his father and his ‘Say what you have to say and wants to ring you, that’s entirely ignored messages left with third Maguire’s brother, John, who is uncle Denis is important in the goodbye.’ up to himself.’ parties at his Dublin and Mayo Facebook friends with Mitch Egan. context of the below-value addresses and his regular pubs in Denis Maguire’s adult nephew, controversial sale of the hospice’s I tell him we’ll be publishing a story THURSDAY JUNE 13TH – 3.04PM. Ballina. Registered letters to his Aidan, answers the door, saying his Spanish property – and this will be in on Mitch’s involvement with Denis Mayo and Harold’s Cross addresses father is away. I tell him the Mail on Sunday this weekend. Maguire and the sale of a below- Bernard Egan – a brother of Mitch – were unanswered. I’m writing a story for Aidan says he doesn’t know much value hospice property in Spain. answers his mobile. Denis Maguire did not respond to this Sunday involving about his father’s or his uncle’s I ask about Mitch and his links to voice and text messages to his family friend Mitch business but agrees to immediately Denis Maguire, suggesting that ‘You don’t know Denis Maguire at mobile and direct emails this week. Egan – a name that contact his father about the matter. perhaps the Egans and the all Bernard – do you?’ I ask. Calls and emails to his lawyer also Aidan immediately Maguires know each other ‘Who?’ went unanswered. recognises. WEDNESDAY JUNE 12TH – through horses. ‘Denis Maguire.’ John Maguire did not respond to ‘Denis – I do yeah. I don’t know our query after we spoke with his CONNECTED: 9.50PM.

Load more