Fuel protest figure faces €550k in Revenue debt judgments on Westmeath property

Darragh Mc Donagh

Revenue has registered judgment mortgages against the home and 68 acres of farmland owned by one of the leaders of the fuel protests, who last week denied that he owed the taxman any money.

The collector general has secured six debt judgments against James Geoghegan in the past six-and-a-half years for a total of almost €550,000. All of these are currently recorded as unsatisfied.

However, Geoghegan, an agricultural contractor from Westmeath, said last week that there was “no issue”, and claimed that the Revenue Commissioners actually owed him €89,000.

He appeared in a video posted on social media at the weekend alongside Senator Sharon Keogan, in which he said: “It’s all false, I don’t owe them any money.

“I’ve been talking to my legal team and [they said], ‘James, you just won the Lotto with all those papers, they can start writing cheques. I’ll clean them for telling pure bulls**t about me.”

He also told one media outlet: “I’ve paid more tax than anyone pays… We’re not a big company. If you owed Revenue anywhere near that money, they would just shut you down.”

The debt judgments were secured by Revenue against Geoghegan personally, and not his company, J Geoghegan Agri Limited. The only judgment against the company was secured by a agricultural engineering firm in Co Down for €7,060 in June 2022.

Land Registry documents show that Revenue obtained a judgment mortgage against Geoghegan’s interest in his family home in Cornaher, Tyrellspass, Co Westmeath, in November 2019.

A judgment mortgage is a legal charge registered against a debtor’s property by a creditor after they obtain a court judgment for a debt.

It allows the creditor to seek the sale of property to secure repayment.

Another judgment mortgage was obtained by Revenue in August 2019 against more than 68 acres of farmland owned by Geoghegan, followed by a third in respect of the same property in November 2019.

Bord na Móna Horticulture Limited also obtained a judgment mortgage on Mr Geoghegan’s interest in his family home in February 2022, according to the Land Registry documents.

Geoghegan has criticised Bord na Móna on social media, posting on Facebook last July that the semi-state company “have taken over land they never bought”, calling for people to stand up and “stop this land grab”.

Revenue has secured six debt judgments against Geoghegan since 2019, the most recent of which was registered just three weeks ago. The others include judgments for amounts as high as €282,004 in 2025, and €174,427 in 2024.

He obtained planning permission for his two-storey home on the family farm with his partner in 2004, despite having sold a site after being granted planning permission just five years before.

He acknowledged in a letter to planners that his chances of getting planning permission were “somewhat compromised” in light of this fact, but said it was important that he live close to the farm.

He explained that he was residing between his father’s house on the farm and his partner’s house in Mullingar at the time of the application. He said they were willing to accept additional restrictions on the sale of the property if permission were granted.

Geoghegan emerged as a key figure during the fuel blockades last week, and was described as a public relations officer for the protesters. He is also a member of the Irish Farmers Association’s (IFA) Environment and Rural Affairs Committee.

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