Michael Flatley pays €500k for extra cover on Cork mansion to allay receiver concerns
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Lord of the Dance star Michael Flatley has increased the insurance cover on Castlehyde his Co Cork mansion to €10m, the Commercial Court has heard.
The move, which came after the receiver over the Fermoy mansion raised concerns about the adequacy of the insurance on the property, has cost €500,000, his lawyer told the court.
Mr Flatley’s counsel, Ronnie Hudson Bl instructed by Maxwell Mooney solicitor, said the policy now on Castlehyde is an all-risks insurance policy.
“The new insurance cover is effective from Wednesday. An additional €2million of cover has been achieved. A €500,000 premium, that is the price of the insurance for Michael Flatley,” Mr Hudson said.
The move came after counsel for the receiver went to court on Wednesday amid concerns about the adequacy of the cover for the Fermoy property. The receiver side had argued that the original €4m cover which had been increased to €8m was not an all-risks, policy but offered limited cover including such things as fire, lightning explosion and aircraft impact.
The receiver side had sought to have the interim injunction restraining the receiver from taking steps in relation to Castleyhyde lifted amid concerns about the insurance cover. Two weeks ago a High Court judge had granted the interim injunction to Mr Flatley restraining a receiver or his agents.
The order was made as it emerged that the mansion had been put up as security on a €5.6million loan taken out by his London film company in 2023 and a receiver had been appointed over Castlehyde.
A receiver was appointed in a row over the repayment of the loan with the film company and Mr Flatley saying that all loan repayments had been made in full by the film company.
In court on Wednesday, counsel for the receiver Kelley Smith SC said that there were now two policies on Castlehyde, one for €8m and another for €2m and they were in place until May 2025. The joint receivers’ interest in Castleyhyde is also noted in the new policy.
Counsel said that this now appears to allay any immediate or urgent concerns on behalf of the receiver but she asked the court for liberty to apply if anything arises.
Mr Hudson pointed out to the court that there is 24-hour CCTV monitoring at Castleyhyde and the alarms system is linked to the local fire station and garda station. Counsel said this was not “a property out in the wilderness” and the policy now in place was an all-risks, all-perils policy until May 2025.
Counsel for the receiver pointed out there were concerns about what the court had been told at the time an interim injunction was sought when the Flatley side submitted that a security firm on behalf of the receiver had allegedly tried to get in to the Fermoy property but had been met by the gardener.
Ms Smith asked that CCTV footage, if any, be made available to their side.
She also said the Flatley side had “pushed back” in relation to the insurance cover and it was only because they had come before the court that it now appeared that adequate insurance cover for Castlehyde was now in place.
Adjourning the matter to the new year, Mr Justice Mark Sanfey also ordered that any CCTV footage should be preserved.
Novellus Finance Ltd which provided the €5.6m loan insists there was default on the loan given to Blackbird Film Productions Ltd and for which Mr Flatley provided a guarantee on the strength of the value of his Castlehyde mansion in Fermoy, Co Cork. Mr Flatley and Blackbird deny all the claims.