The High Court, sitting in Letterkenny, is considering a civil case taken by a documentarist against Tory Island hotelier Patrick Doohan over a 150-year-old house. Neville Presho, originally from Co. Down, bought the house on the Co. Donegal island in 1982, but later moved to New Zealand.

Years later building contractor John McGinty and his workers were given the key by a local woman and moved into the house, where they remained until storm damage forced them to move out. On the following night the building was destroyed by fire. Over the course of the next few months all but the gables of the house fell and these were eventually demolished.

Mr McGinty told the court that before leaving the property his workers removed all the fuses so he was satisfied that the fire wasn't accidental. He also claimed that Mr Doohan had offered him €1k to clear the site but he refused as Mr Doohan failed to provide proof of ownership.

In 1994 Mr Presho returned to the island to discover that where his house had stood was a car park and septic tank, installed by the hotelier. Since that date Mr Presho has spent many periods in psychiatric hospitals and has been diagnosed with bipolar disease.

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