Developer living on Fumes (James Clancy, Eagle Rock, Furbo)

benji2006 · July 22, 2009, 11:12am

irishtimes.com/newspaper/finance/2009/0703/1224249968345.html

IN THE COURTS: SECURING A judgment in the courts against someone who obviously owes you money can sometimes be the easy bit.

Yesterday, a Galway builder who was the subject of a judgment for well in excess of €3 million was up before Mr Justice Brian McGovern. James Clancy, Eagle Rock, Furbo, Co Galway, had guaranteed financing from ACC Asset Finance for a machine that cost €3.99 million and was used for the manufacture of prefabricated polystyrene houses.

In an effort to help ACC get its money, Clancy was ordered to file an affidavit providing details of bank accounts, forms filed to the Revenue, his debts and his assets. His own counsel accepted yesterday that the affidavit filed was inadequate.

As he was questioned by Robert Beatty, for ACC, and by the judge, more emerged about Clancy’s business affairs. He had an interest in 11 portfolios of land, all in Galway. He said he had not had any correspondence nor filed any forms to the Revenue Commissioners since 2005, although he did make monthly payments.

He said he had had “no income” since 2007 and, when asked by the judge what he was living on, he replied: “I’m living on fumes.”
His companies had bank accounts but he himself did not have an account that he used for his daily expenses, he said.

Despite all this, he appeared to be able to get finance from the banks, and in particular Anglo Irish Bank. He had received loans from Anglo for his Clanview Construction business. He had “five or six mortgages [with Anglo], maybe more”. He also had mortgages with the Bank of Ireland and the Bank of Scotland (Ireland).

Despite his earlier evidence about having no income, he told the judge that Anglo had been paying him a wage up to four months ago. “Clanview is just about finished now,” he said.

The last time he had been due in court, he had been in Dubai. Asked about this, he explained that he had bought another polystyrene machine in late 2006, for more than €3.6 million, which he had shipped out to Abu Dhabi.

He had gone into business there with a Tariq Mohammed, but had been unable to keep up his end of the deal. His partner had seized the machine.

The loan for this came from Anglo, he said, and was a personal loan. “What was happening in relation to repayments?” the judge asked. “There was nothing happening in respect of the repayments,” he replied.

At one stage Anglo was going to give him more money to save the Abu Dhabi business, but changed its mind. “I got quite a lot of money from Anglo for the building business. They were funding my building business. I purchased two to three sites with Anglo.”

He said he had been in the United Arab Emirates “25 to 30 times” in the past three years and four to five times this year. He was looking at starting up an apartment building business with a partner. Asked how he paid for the flights, he said others had paid for them.

He was given until July 21st to file a proper affidavit and warned by the judge there would be “serious consequences” if it wasn’t adequate.

When he came out of the witness box, ACC served him with a penal endorsement, a move that could see him committed to prison if he does not come up with the required affidavit.

benji2006 · July 22, 2009, 11:14am

breakingnews.ie/ireland/bank-may-apply-to-have-builder-jailed-for-alleged-contempt-419574.html

ewd3 · July 22, 2009, 11:29am

Anglo wankers
paying dead beat developers wages with our money …

utter pricks

whizzbang · July 22, 2009, 11:34am

rough translation “I have money but I’m sure as hell not telling you where it is”
Hire a PI to follow him and take photos of him at a cash machine.
scum.

Orwellgeorge · July 22, 2009, 11:43am

Clancy introdduced Amway to ireland, pyraid selling of cosmetics, toiletries etc.
Clan electric in Galway.

2Pack · July 22, 2009, 12:25pm

Better known as Jimmy Clancy and he is allegedly either number 1 or 2 or 3 in the Irish Amway Pyramid …and that for 30 years now .

No mention of his Ferries charging €70 per person for trips duing the Volvo Ocean Race either , I reckon if they were full they pulled in €10000 a day, each

A full disclosure would have to include Amway , the Ferries and the hotel he has let out in Spiddal !

The_Naked_Chef · July 22, 2009, 12:27pm

How can the good people of the pin know all of this so quickly and teh bewigged cant?

Really starting to get depressed.

Tyrone · July 22, 2009, 12:38pm

He’s a hard man to track, but here’s a sample!

archives.tcm.ie/laoisnationalist … y16503.asp

100 new jobs for Port.

EMPLOYMENT prospects in Portarlington received a major boost this week with the news of a new factory that will create upwards of 100 jobs. The new factory will produce a revolutionary housing system.

The news of the new development was announced at a joint meeting of the Laois and Offaly Fianna Fáil cumanns held in Portarlington last night (Tuesday). The man who is being credited with bringing the new factory to Portarlington is Offaly county councillor Tom Nolan.

The name of the new company is M2 (Emmedue) which is a franchise brought into Ireland from Italy by Galway man Jim Clancy.

Mr Clancy explained that for many years he had been looking for alternative ways to building houses and after much searching came across this method in Italy.

“I was watching television one night and there was a programme about the Egyptians building the pyramids. They were using trowels and mortar and I thought nothing has changed in 2,000 years. There must be a better way,” said Mr Clancy.

A chance meeting between Cllr Nolan and Mr Clancy while he was building 140 houses in Killmalogue in Portarlington laid the foundations for the new enterprise.

Mr Clancy was importing the components for the houses from Italy but transport costs were severe. He then decided that it would be better to produce these components in Ireland. His first aim was to set up in Galway near his home base but Mr Nolan persuaded him that Portarlington was the place to be.

“I’ve got to hand it to Tom. He did everything to persuade me to set up in Portarlington. He worked tirelessly and made sure everything went through,” said Mr Clancy. “He persevered until I was persuaded to set up in Portarlington.”

Mr Clancy went on to purchase a five-acre site in Botley Lane, Portarlington, just off Patrick Street. He anticipates that the factory will be up and running and in production before Christmas and says it will be the most modern factory of its type in the world.

“When I first saw the system it was like the reinvention of the wheel. **The system involves joined pairs of polystyrene sheets into which concrete is poured. These can then be faced, plastered or have brick work attached to them,” said Mr Clancy. **

As well as being far more environmentally friendly than normal methods and material with this system houses can be build much quicker. A four-block scheme of two two-bedroom and two three-bedroom houses can be erected in eight to nine days.

News of this new development will be greeted with delight in Portarlington which is still trying to come to terms with the closure of Avon Arlington.

Stifster · July 22, 2009, 12:50pm

I wouldn’t assume they don’t know when his own barrister admits his client hasn’t provided full details.

corner_back · July 22, 2009, 1:21pm

Theres your celtic tiger at its best.
Coming down with so many houses accumulated that you cant figure out how many you “own”

benji2006 · July 22, 2009, 1:58pm

Here’s another link:

galwaycity.ie/AllServices/Planning/PlanningLists/2004/December/File,1771,en.pdf

James Clancy
Eagle Rock
Furbo
Spiddal
Co. Galway

R 16/12/2004 Permission for security roller shutters and signage
Oscars Restaurant &
Clan Video Shop
22-23 Upper Dominick St
Galway

ex-Patrick · July 22, 2009, 2:27pm

Again, fair play to ACC.

fishfoodie · July 22, 2009, 2:43pm

Is waterboarding illegal in Ireland ?

I’m pretty sure I can get a full list of his assets if needed.

Orwellgeorge · July 22, 2009, 2:55pm

The mans a mess, the business is in a mess. Sounds to me that he could end up in jail for a while for contempt of court. It would put alot of similar shisters in thier place. Keep it up ACC, you could well be the saving of this country.

doubleglaze · July 22, 2009, 3:23pm

He might have a bit of rental income coming in…

property.ie/property-to-let/Eagle-Rock-Furbo-Spiddal-Co-Galway/754108/

2Pack · July 22, 2009, 5:31pm

Aha , so he got a loan for a polystyrene house factory in Portarlington and now the polystyrene house machinery is ( variously) in Romania or Abu Dhabi .

The technology was ‘demonstrated’ on a ghost estate somewhere and Brian Cowen was a supporter and it had grown another 100 jobs by then

irishconcrete.ie/downloads/i … rmwork.pdf

The Riverside Estate is the brainchild of
local builder and entrepreneur Jimmy
Clancy and his partner Gerrard F. May, a
well known figure in the Roofing and
Cladding industry. Following a prolonged
period of research into ICF’s, which took
them across Europe and the United States,
the partners eventually opted for the Italian
‘M2 Emmedue System’, securing the sole
agency for both Britain & Ireland. Based
on the positive experience to date and his
complete satisfaction in relation to the
efficiencies and benefits of the system,
Clancy has recently turned the sod on a
70,000 sq. ft. factory to manufacture a full
range of ICF components for the Irish
Market. The facility, which has the
enthusiastic support of local politician and
Minister for Finance, Brian Cowan, will
cost and estimated €13 million to
complete and promises to create 200 new
jobs when fully commissioned.

Inis_Man · July 22, 2009, 5:53pm

one online English-Italian dictionary says that furbo means…

furbo adj cunning
furbo adj foxy
furbo adj artful (as a fox)
furbo adj wily
furbo agg clever
furbo agg shrewd
furbo agg canny!!!

wordreference.com/iten/furbo

BrendanG · July 22, 2009, 6:02pm

The PS building system goes under the name Clantek

Elite holding group seems to be the UAE connection.

2Pack · July 22, 2009, 6:39pm

Well the Clan Eagle is sailing every day as far as I know , maybe the wife owns that too

so is Clann na n-Oileán

https://www.galwayships.com/images/full_size/clann_na_noileain_01_071107.jpg

However the website for Aran Direct Ferries has been taken down bar a holding page .

fishfoodie · July 22, 2009, 8:45pm

Don’t the taxpayer stump up quite a bit of cash to ‘subsidise’ all the island ferry businesses ?

Handy having mates in FF & especially AC&TG then !