It was a chance meeting in 2013 that led entrepreneur Denis Connolly to go into business with Gerard Lane, a wealthy Irish-born businessman based in the Philippines. Both had bid on Tinakilly House, the Victorian-era hotel in Rathnew, Co Wicklow that was in receivership at the time, the High Court heard on Wednesday. Connolly knew the property from his youth and found it “very quiet, very desolate” when he visited it on a reconnaissance trip. It was obvious to him it wasn’t trading well. Lights were off, and the fire was down. Just 45 minutes from Dublin, he felt it had…

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