Man settles case against council over father’s exhumation without his knowledge

High Court

A man who claimed Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council allowed the exhumation of his father’s remains without his knowledge has settled a High Court action against the local authority.

Paschal Farrell claimed his sister Charlotte Farrell-Quin did not disclose to the council that she was one of five living children of the late Gerard Farrell when she sought permission to exhume his remains from Deansgrange Cemetery in late 2024.

In certain circumstances, permission for exhumation of human remains is granted by local authorities in the form of an exhumation licence.

In his court documents, Farrell said the council did not make him aware of his sister’s application for an exhumation licence, nor the granting of the licence. He further stated he was not aware of the subsequent exhumation of their father’s remains, and reinterment at a graveyard in Ashford, Co Wicklow.

It was the council’s position that it was unaware Farrell-Quin had siblings when it granted the licence.

Brendan Hennessy, counsel for Farrell, on Thursday told Judge Mary Rose Gearty the case had been resolved, and the council had agreed to quash the exhumation licence granted to Farrell-Quin.

Hennessy said an order could be made for his client’s legal costs, and the matter struck out.

The judge made the order as sought.

Gerard Farrell died in August 2009, aged 77. He was initially buried at a family plot in Deansgrange Cemetery, where at least three generations of his family are also interred, Farrell said in his court documents.