A Wexford man’s litigation over 14 years frustrating a judgment creditor’s bid for repayment of more than €1 million shows how some litigants are “gaming the system”, a High Court judge has said.Judge John Jordan made his observation when refusing Brendan Kirwan’s preliminary motions seeking to strike out an application to set aside a conveyance of his joint interest in a property at Coolcotts, Wexford, to his wife Frances, leaving her as the sole owner.The set aside order is sought by Filbeck Limited arising from a 2012 judgment obtained against Brendan Kirwan. The conveyance, it claims, was an effort to prevent it enforcing that judgment.The judge said the litigation history is “protracted” and “illustrates in a rather stark way how litigants such as Kirwan can delay and frustrate the delivery of justice – by abusing the court process – or by doing what many might describe as gaming the system”.Kirwan has delayed and frustrated Filbeck getting the case heard and determined and it is clear he “will endeavour to continue to do so if allowed”. Kirwan’s conduct has clear consequences in this litigation, but it does not end there as his wasting of court time deprives other litigants of time for their cases, the judge said.He set out a chronology of relevant events, dating from June 1982 when Kirwan and his wife were registered joint owners of the property at Glenville Road, Coolcotts, Wexford.In early 2011, the property was registered in Frances Kirwan’s sole name. In late 2011, proceedings seeking summary judgment for about €1 million against her husband were issued by Filbeck. In August 2012, Kirwan issued proceedings against Eamonn Buttle, a director of Filbeck. In November 2012, Filbeck got judgment, in default of appearance, against Brendan Kirwan for about €1.05 million.Kirwan applied a month later to set aside the judgment and proceedings were commenced by him in 2013 disputing liability. In July 2018, Filbeck issued the current proceedings seeking to set aside the 2011 conveyance of the property to Frances Kirwan.In October 2019, the High Court dismissed his 2013 proceedings over inexcusable delay. It also struck out Kirwan’s 2012 proceedings against Buttle, granted Filbeck leave to execute the judgment obtained in its 2011 proceedings and refused Kirwan’s bid to set aside that judgment.In 2022, the Court of Appeal dismissed appeals by Kirwan. The Supreme Court agreed to hear a further appeal and in May 2025 upheld the Court of Appeal decision.Filbeck’s application to set aside the conveyance then proceeded to hearing.In February last, another High Court judge refused Kirwan’s application to set aside the judgment obtained by Filbeck.In his judgment, Jordan said much of what his colleague Judge Cian Ferriter had said in his February decision could be repeated in relation to the strike out motions brought by Kirwan. It is as if Kirwan and his son Barry “refuse to hear or accept they cannot rehash matters which are not new” and which Kirwan has lost the right to litigate, the judge said.Kirwan had brought “argumentative” motions seeking to have Filbeck’s claim struck out for a variety of reasons, including alleged corruption, fraud and misconduct.Having considered the evidence and the law, the judge said that Filbeck had a strong case for the set-aside order sought and Kirwan had advanced no basis to strike out its claim. There was nothing to support Kirwan’s claims of corruption, fraud and misconduct, the judge said. He had persisted in making “entirely baseless” claims of wrongdoing against other parties and their lawyers, he said. Kirwan’s motions were “a clear attempt” to circumvent previous final orders and amounted to an abuse of the court’s process, he held.Filbeck’s application to set aside the conveyance will be heard on a later date.