Anna Thomson-Moore broke down in the witness box on Thursday as she told the High Court why she and husband Richard Thomson Moore decided to sell Barne Estate to care for their son.

The latest proceedings in the High Court case taken by bloodstock billionaire John Magnier over a contested deal to buy the Thomson-Moore’s 751ac estate in Co Tipperary, heard evidence from an emotional Anna Thomson-Moore.

Mrs Thomson-Moore explained to the court on Thursday afternoon how the birth of her child with a number of diagnoses – most notably cerebral palsy and epilepsy – led to the decision to sell Barne Estate and move to Australia.

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Prior to the birth of their son Teddy, she told the court that she and her husband Richard had no “burning desire” to leave Ireland.

However, she said that they have no family in Ireland and can receive better medical care for their son in Australia compared to what’s available in south Tipperary.

She told the court that they are currently relying on friends from abroad to look after their children during court proceedings.

Daily life

Teddy was described by Mrs Thomson-Moore on Thursday as a delightfully happy and inquisitive child, but explained how he is unable to do any of the things a typical five-year-old child can do.

“He’s not able to do anything independently that you would expect a five-year-old child to be able to do. It means that he requires 24-hour care to be fed, washed, bathed, he isn’t toilet trained, he cannot sit independently, he cannot walk, he cannot crawl and he’s non-verbal. Whilst I never wanted him to be defined by his physical status, it has a huge impact on our daily life and our life as a family and what we have to do in order to look after him,” she said.

She described how the house on Barne Estate is completely impractical and expressed her concern about how she and Mr Thomson-Moore are “older parents”.

“Ultimately, one of the things that I think about every day as his mum is what happens to Teddy when I’ve died and how he’s looked after. And, we don’t have family in Ireland and I have a large family in Australia and ultimately, we want Teddy to be secure and safe.”

It was, she added, an obvious solution to relocate to Australia where Teddy would have family around him.

Anna Thomson-Moore was one of the five people present in Coolmore House on the night of 22 August 2023 when the alleged handshake deal to sell Barne Estate to John Magnier took place for €15m. John Magnier proceeded to take legal action after the Thomson-Moores later agreed to sell the property to US-based construction magnate Maurice Regan. Mr Magnier also claims there was an exclusivity agreement in place, as well as an agreement for Coolmore to carry out fieldwork on the land.

The case will continue on Friday. Read about the Barne Estate timeline here.