Sligo County Council could be handed a legal bill of €7 million today, over its failure to establish that rights of way exist at the historic Lissadell Estate.

The Supreme Court is expected to rule on the costs of the case today.

Lissadell, the ancestral home of Countess Markievicz is now owned by barristers Edward Walsh and Constance Cassidy.

The couple bought the property for €4 million in 2003 and spent another €9.5 million restoring it.

But in 2009 they closed the doors to the public and issued legal proceedings against Sligo County Council over a provision in the county development plan which asserted public rights of way on the property.

They lost after a 58 day hearing in the High Court but won on appeal late last year.

Today the Supreme Court will address the issue of legal costs. If the council is ordered to foot the bill for both sides, the figure could be as high as €7 million, €3 million more than the purchase price of Lissadell 11 years ago.