HOUSE ABOUT THIS CHRISTINA?
WE UNCOVER NEW €1m HOME IN ‘HOLY’ EXCLUSIVE
HOUSE ABOUT THIS CHRISTINA?
SPONGEBOB has
been blamed for a
power blackout that left
4,000 people in the dark.
It happened in
Massachussetts, where a
balloon featuring
Spongebob snagged
on powercables.
MISSING: Bernie Gavan
Please helpme find mypoor sister
By KEITH FALKINER
A DISTRAUGHT womanhas made an impassionedappeal for help in tracinghis missing mother.
Heartbroken AnnO’Hanlon said she hopedsome new informationcould come forward in rela-tion to her missing sisterBernie Gavan, who has notbeen seen since the day ofa big GAA game in Dublinlast August.
To add to Ann’s misery,this week marked theninth anniversary of thedeath of Bernie’s sonMichael, who tragicallycommitted suicide at theage of 19.
AppealBernie (59), who suffers
from bi-polar disorder andhad been a patient atDaneswood House,Glasnevin, was last seen onBroombridge Road, Cabra,on Sunday, August 19 justafter 2.30pm, on the day ofthe Cork v Meath All-Ireland football semi-finalat Croke Park.
Bernie Gavan isdescribed as being fivefoot tall with blond hairand glasses.
She was last seenwearing a pink jacket, pinktop, pink shoes and blackpants.
Anyone with anyinformation in relation toher should contact gardaiat Whitehall on 6664500.
If you would like to helpfundraise for the Missingin Ireland Support Serviceto get its helpline back intooperation, you can log onto the website www.miss.ie.
IRISH BOOKTO BE MOVIEIRISH author ChristinaMcKenna has had her firstnovel snapped up for a filmby Jeremy Irons.
Despite 26 knockbacks,Christina’s luck changedwhen New York agent BillContardi loved her tale,The Misremembered Man.The book will now be madeinto a film.
THIS is another stunningmansion owned by “holy”woman Christina Gallagher –a €1 million home which putsthe lie to her claim that sheowns no property.
The self-proclaimed visionaryand founder of the controversialHouse of Prayer in Achill is listedon the land registry as the soleowner of the luxury house outsideNewport, Co Mayo.
She is also listed on the same gov-ernment record as joint owner of aplush house in Knockmore, near Fox-ford, where her husband Paddy lives.
These are on top of the €1 million man-sion outside Ballina which she boughttwo years ago and where her daughterMary lives.
And then there is the €4 million man-sion on an exclusive estate in Malahidewhere she lives but which is registered toone of her key money men.
Gallagher’s spiritual director, Fr GerardMcGinnity, went live on radio last monthto claim his mentor owned no propertiesand that our accusations of her luxuriouslifestyle were scandalous.
The Sunday World has carried a seriesof articles calling on Gallagher, who doesnot work, to explain her huge wealth andto reveal what happened to the millionsof euro donated to her House of Prayerfrom ordinary people all over the country.
Today, we reveal the amazing history ofthe palatial stone home outside Newportwhich Gallagher has owned for 10 years.
And we unveil the astonishing luxuriesshe has packed into its rooms including amassive four-poster bed she had speciallyimported from top people’s store Harrods inLondon.
Gallagher is believed to have paid morethan £100,000 (€127,000) for what wasthen a humble single-storey buildingback in 1998.
Over the years she spent a fortunedoing the place up, adding anoth-er floor, a summer house anda conservatory. A largestone wall hides thehouse from passingmotorists while ourpicture – taken froma hill opposite –shows a securitycamera aimedstraight at themain gate, not ausual requisite formost visionaries.
ShrineGallagher tried to
sell the property inthe 1990s to would-be British buyers butcouldn’t find a pur-chaser.
Then, two years ago, she came upwith the ingenious idea of selling thehome to her own supporters as a ‘shrine’to herself, claiming it was too expensiveand that she couldn’t afford it.
The Blue Ivory Trust was set up specifi-cally for the purpose of raising funds tobuy the home.
Hundreds, possibly thousands, of peo-ple all over the country donated moneyto the fund and estimates of what wasraised varied between €600,000 and €1million.
Supporters were told the trust hadbought the house and a plaque was puton the front wall saying ‘Blue Ivory Trust’.
But the Sunday World can reveal todaythe Blue Ivory Trust does not own thehouse. In fact, the Blue Ivory Trust is notregistered as owning any property in Mayo
whatsoever.Further enquiries by the
Sunday World failed tocome up with any record
of the trust as a chari-ty or a business.
Land registryrecords show thatGallagher is theonly owner. Thehouse was origi-nally listed in hername and that ofher daughter,Mary Gorman,from 1998.
They were listedas “full owners”.However, in Sep-
tember 2004, theregister was changed and
Gallagher became the soleowner. Around this time, she told
her devotees that she had bought anoth-er house for her daughter.
One former Gallagher follower who con-tributed to the Blue Ivory fund said lastnight: “This is simply unbelievable. I didn’thave a lot of money but I gave thousands ofeuro because Christina said she could notafford to live there.
“If it can be proved that she took thismoney while keeping the house, sheshould be prosecuted for fraud. The onlypeople who use that house are Christina
and her family.”The Sunday World has uncovered the
astonishing secrets of this luxurioushome where Gallagher lives like a Holly-wood star when in Mayo.
The fittings include a four-poster bed inGallagher’s massive bedroom boughtfrom Harrods, the plush shop wherePrincess Diana used to shop.
There are four luxury bedrooms on theground floor alone and every one has anensuite bathroom and TV.
A living room and dining room havemarble fireplaces and are packed withexpensive crystal and antiques. Chande-liers costing thousands of euro hang fromthe ceilings.
There is a massive kitchen, a conserva-tory, an extensive garden with a waterfallon the back wall, a pond with tropicalfish and palm trees. Steps in the gardenlead to a summer house.
LuxuryOne visitor told us: “Upstairs there are
just two bedrooms covering the same spaceas the ground floor but are just massive.One of them is Christina’s.
“The bed in her room would not evenfit in a normal size room. She bought itfrom Harrods along with matching sidetables.
“There is a walk-in wardrobe and youhave never seen so many clothes. Shekeeps jewellery worth thousands of euroin her room.
“The ensuite bathrooms of these twobedrooms both have jacuzzis. There is apull-down seat in one of the showerswhich becomes your own private steamroom.
“The house is the ultimate in luxury.
She says she owns no property...we prove
UNANSWERED QUESTIONS:Self-proclaimed visionary
Christina Gallagher, the landregistry documents (above) and
the mansion in Mayo (main)
By JIM GALLAGHER
4 February 10, 2008
