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Waterford Corporation awarded £1 damages in High
Court action over Wallace plaques
Waterford Corporation were awarded damages of £1
by Mr. Justice Finlay in the High Court, Dublin, yester-
day, when he delivered his reserved judgment in the
action brought by the Corporation against a local man
which concerned the ownership of two stone plaques
commemorating Waterford-born composer, William
Vincent Wallace.
In the action which was heard two weeks ago, the
Corporation claimed the return of the plaques which
were erected on the walls of Mr. Vincent O'Toole's
premises, Maryland Guesthouse, at The Mall.
In addition they sought damages against Mr. O'Toole
for detinue and a mandatory injunction directing him
to return the plaques to them.
Mr. Justice Finlay, who gave Mr. O'Toole his costs,
said that in his view the plaques had been preserved
or the benefit of the citizens of Waterford and visitors,
and they were suitably placed in a prominent place. In
the circumstances the damages suffered by the cor-
poration by reason of the technical detinue of the
plaques was in his view nominal only.
Wallace was born in Waterford on 11 Mary 1812 and
he died in Paris on 12 October 1865. He is buried in
Kensal Green, London. His best known works are Mari-
tana, Lurline and The Amber Witch. The plaques
were commissioned by a body known as his admirers
in 1914.
In the course of his judgment, Mr. Justice Finlay
outlined the history of the plaques from the evidence
tendered during the one-day case.
He said that around 1969, Mr. O'Toole who, he
was satisfied, had, over a period, taken a very deep
and genuine interest in the life and works of Wallace,
became interested in the situation with regard to the
plaques. As a result of his searches he had discovered
the project for the erection of the Wallace statue, which
had become frustrated, and the existence of the plaques
in the possession of the Waterford Corporation.
Mr. O'Toole, he said, therefore conceived in 1969
in association with the Festival of Light Opera an-
nually held in Waterford, a plan for unveiling the
plaques in some prominent public place associated
with choral singing by children and associated with a
considerable amount of publicity which he was satisfied
would enhance the reputation and general organisa-
tion of the festival.
The house in which Wallace lived was in a dilapid-
ated condition in 1969 and for that reason Mr. O'Toole
decided that the most suitable place for them was on
the wall of his own guest house.
"I'm fully satisfied that in choosing this he had not
got a personal profit or ulterior motive and was simply
anxious to secure the erection of the plaques in a
prominent and suitable public place", said Mr. Justice
Finlay.
With this end in view, Mr. O'Toole asked the then
chairman of the festival, William Carroll, to approach
the City Manager, Mr. Cassidy, for the purpose of
obtaining permission to have the plaques erected on the
guest house at his (Mr. O'Toole's) expense. Mr. Car-
roll in turn sought the assistance of Alderman Thomas
Brennan, who was the present Lord Mayor of Water-
ford. Alderman Brennan and Mr. Carroll then had
an interview with the City Manager.
Mr. Justice Finlay said that he was satisfied and
found as a fact that the substance of the message con-
veyed to Mr. O'Toole, following the interview, was that
the City Manager was agreeable to his taking the
plaques and having them erected on his premises but,
that that would have to be ratified at a meeting of
the corporation.
Mr. Justice Finlay said that he was also satisfied
that the meaning conveyed to Mr. O'Toole was that
this ratification was not considered anything more than
a formality.
On the same day, 1 September 1969, Mr. O'Toole
went to the corporation's premises at Bolton Street and
was shown the plaques. Mr. O'Toole then arranged
for the plaques to be removed the following day by a
firm of builders and contractors, Hearn and Co., Water-
ford.
Mr. Justice Finlay said that the reason why per-
mission was then given for the removal of the plaques
by the officials of the Corporation was that Mr. Thomas
Carroll, the City Engineer, had on that date a tele-
phone conversation with the City Manager, Mr. Cas-
sidy, which Mr. Carroll interpreted as being a directios
that she should hand over the plaques to Mr. O'Toole
or to any person coming on his behalf. Mr. Cassidy
had given evidence to the court that he did not intend
to give any such order to Mr. Carroll and that on his
recollection he did not give those instructions.
"Mr. Carroll struck me as being a meticulous and
careful public official and he wrote a report on Septem-
ber 3 confirming the instructions which he understood
he had received and the action which he had taken in
pursuance of them.
"I take the view that the Waterford Corporation in
law held out Mr. Carroll, the City Engineer, as a
person having authority to deal with a matter such as
this and that, therefore, they must be taken for the
purposes of the issues arising in this case, to have
handed over at that time possession of these plaques
to Mr. O'Toole."
Waterford Corporation, on 8 September 1969, de-
feated a resolution which proposed the ratification of
the handing over of the plaques to Mr. O'Toole and a
resolution was then taken to demand the return of the
plaques and to make provision for their erection else-
where in the city. The following day, Mr. O'Toole was
written to by the City Manager and the City Engineer
who demanded the return of the plaques, but he refused
to return them. Later he wrote to the Corporation
indicating that in the view of the builders it was not
possible to remove the plaques from his premises with-
out breaking them. The proceedings were then insti-
tuted against Mr. O'Toole.
Mr. Justice Finlay said that he was satisfied on the
law that it was not within the power of the City
Manager to have made any agreement he liked with
Mr. O'Toole without obtaining the ratification or
approval of the City Council; that it was not the inten-
tion of the City Manager to make such a decision
without the ratification of the council, and that Mr.
O'Toole was aware that a ratification on the part of
the Council was necessary at all material times. In
these circumstances he was satisfied Mr. O'Toole's
condition of bailment failed and he had an obligation
to return the plaques.
Later in his judgment, Mr. Justice Finlay said that
he would not grant any order for the return of the
plaques in the circumstances and he would not grant a
mandatory injunction for their removal from the
building.
He found that Mr. O'Toole committed a detinue
to the plaques and the corporation were entitled to
damages for that.
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