On the evening Catherine O’Brien was brought to court to face deception charges in June 2024, it was a quiet Sunday in Clonmel. Nicola lost two houses she had mortgaged to help Catherine O'Brien purchase business property in Dungarvan. At the heart of the High Court judgement was a business called Advanced Vetmed Ireland (AVMI) Ltd, which never opened. However, the High Court judgement outlined that there was no paper trail to substantiate the loan claim. File picture: Dan LinehanDuring the Garda investigation, the dairy farmer told officers that “he provided Catherine O’Brien with money for horses which disappeared”.

Source: Irish Examiner January 17, 2026 07:30 UTC