The Curious Case of Lord Lucan & Castlebar, Co. Mayo, Ireland 1994

The disappearance of Lord Lucan continues to have an impact in Castlebar County Mayo. Lord Lucan, also known as Richard John Bingham or the seventh Earl of Lucan, disappeared in the early hours of November 8, 1974. His children’s nanny, Sandra Rivett, was found murdered. Lord Lucan’s whereabouts remains a mystery to this day. At the beginning of the twentieth century, it is estimated that the Lucan family still owned the ground rent rights to an estimated 1,200 properties in Ireland. Since the disappearance of Lord Lucan twenty years earlier, many have refused to pay ground rents. The owner of the Bungalow Bar, Paddy Cannon, has actually been taken to court over the matter. The case was dropped on a technicality. Paddy Cannon argues that it is not right to pay rent to an invisible landlord. TD for the region Enda Kenny believes that the British government needs to either declare Lord Lucan officially dead or have alternative legal action. The call to have Lord Lucan declared dead is rejected by the Lucan’s solicitor, Michael Egan. An RTÉ News report broadcast on 7 November 1994. The reporter is Eileen Magnier.