A High Court judge has ruled that an Irish man who died in Australia did not intend to revoke his Irish will and had wanted the “home place” in Co. Mayo to go to his only son.
James Browne made his Irish will in Ballina, Co. Mayo in October 2000, but when he died at the age of 75 he was living in New South Wales, Australia where he had “extensive property and assets”.
Browne had emigrated to England when he was 18 and then moved to Australia when he was aged 30, where he originally worked as a machine driver before developing a “very successful plant and machinery hire business”.
He also later became involved in farming as “that was his first love”.
Although he was entitled to Australian citizenship, he never took it up and “instead travelled on his Irish passport”.
Browne was also buried in Mayo, “in accordance with his long-expressed wishes”.
Mountain land
The issue of Browne’s Irish will came before the High Court in Dublin following an application by its sole executrix to admit the Irish will to probate.
Browne had also made an Australian will in 2004, drafted by his Australian solicitor, which according to Justice Siobhán Stack in her judgement published this week, had been “executed in a hospital”.
His Australian solicitor was not present when the Australian will was executed and according to the judgement Browne’s “precise state of health on the date of execution of the Australian will is unclear”.
Browne, who was survived by his wife and four children, had during his lifetime bought a total of 320ac of mountain land in Ballycastle, County Mayo – which Justice Stack’s judgement detailed – “had been owned by earlier generations of his family”.
Australian will
The probate application came before the High Court because Browne’s Australian will contained “a general revocation clause which, on its face, appears to revoke the Irish will” according to Justice Stack’s judgement which was delivered on January 15, 2024.
If the Irish will were to be revoked it would mean that Browne’s only son would not inherit the Mayo lands or any other Irish assets.
His mother supported the application to submit the Irish will to probate and also swore “a very clear affidavit to the effect that her husband intended her son to succeed to the Irish lands”.
According to the judgement Browne had a “very strong and specific connection to the lands in Ballycastle, Co. Mayo, where he grew up”.
“His grandfather had been reared there and the family connection with the lands went back many generations,” it detailed.
Browne had involved his only son “from a young age in farm work”.
His son had “got involved in rounding up cattle for testing, making silage, and from time-to-time spent the traditional day on the bog cutting turf with his cousin”.
The issue which had to be determined by the High Court centred around a “revocation clause” in the Australian will and in particular whether it revoked the Irish will which had remained in place since 2000.
Justice Stack said that in her view “the revocation clause was inserted by mistake, without thinking about the Irish estate”.
In her judgement she noted that Browne had “separately instructed his solicitors in Ireland and Australia, respectively, and who took it upon himself to ensure that his Irish and Australian estates would remain separate”.
Justice Stack said that there was “no such evidence” to suggest that his intentions for his Irish estate had changed.
The judge said in her view it was clear that Browne had not intended to revoke his Irish will and she would admit the Irish will to probate.