Hunt for developer's will
Sunday December 06 2009
The family of a leading property developer and Dubai investor who committed suicide are trying to find his will.
John O'Dolan, 51, hanged himself in a horse shed on lands he owned at Barna, Co Galway, when he was said to be "stressed and depressed" about the collapse of the property market.
Originally from Clontarf, Dublin, Mr O'Dolan became a leading property developer in the Galway area and was one of the consortium behind the purchase of the Dubai island called 'Ireland in the Sun' for €28m from Nakheel, the property company which was controlled by the Dubai government, during the height of the property bubble in 2007.
Dubai World, which is controlled by the al-Maktoum family and includes the property arm Nakheel, is now struggling under a massive €80bn of debt and has effectively stopped all development.
Mr O'Dolan was a major investor in Dubai and along with Noel Connellan, Ray Norton and Andrew Brett had bought the 'Island of Ireland' project which was to be built as part of a major complex through his company O'Dolan International.
The man-made island was to contain 100 residential units as well as replica's of famous Irish landmarks.
Now all work on the island project has come to a halt as Dubai desperately tries to lure fresh investment and raise funds for a €3.5bn bond which Nakheel has to pay back next months.
As the property market slumped Mr O'Dolan, a father of three, became increasingly troubled by his own huge mountain of debt.
At an inquest into his death last July it was revealed that he had been to visit a psychiatrist the day before he hanged himself at the end of February last 2008.
Now a firm of solicitors in Galway have placed a notice in the Law Society Gazette asking "any solicitor holding or having knowledge of a will made by the above-named deceased to please contact" them.
The firm Lewis C Doyle of Galway did not return phone calls when asked for a comment on the matter.
- LIAM COLLINS
Sunday Independent
