Struggling homeowners are wondering how in the world barrister Theresa Lowe and husband Frank McNamara secured a major victory in the High Court that saw €2.9m in debts written off.

The implications of the high-flying couple’s win against a vulture fund will inevitably raise hopes for other people who find themselves in a similar predicament.

On Tuesday, High Court Judge Mr Justice Denis McDonald found in favour of the couple, who live in a four-bedroom home in Dunshaughlin, Co Meath.

They had gone to court over the refusal of the Tanager fund to agree to a personal insolvency deal (PIA).

It’s the latest chapter in the lives of the couple who remain household names despite taking a step back from the limelight. Ms Lowe is the founder of Theresa Lowe Communications, offering services such as media training.

But they both are best known for their involvement in RTÉ shows. He was a former musical director of ‘The Late Late Show’, while quiz show ‘Where In The World?’ was presented by Ms Lowe (56) and was the centrepiece of many Sunday evenings in Irish homes in the late 1980s.

The first time they met was when Ms Lowe was a 20-year-old student and Mr McNamara was 23.

The second youngest of eight, she was a student in UCD studying English, French, and Greek and Roman civilisation. She auditioned for a “new faces” slot on a music show.

Mr McNamara (59), who was the programme’s musical director, recalled in a newspaper interview he turned to the producer when she walked in and said: “This one will be good.” His hunch proved right, and he was impressed with her singing ability.

Ms Lowe recalled: “When we got talking afterwards, I found him very thoughtful and intelligent and we got on very well.”

The couple married in 1987 and have four children – twins Frankie and Quincy, JJ and Charlotte, and music has carried through to the next generation of the family.

Last year, the couple travelled to Rome where they celebrated their 31st wedding anniversary and Ms Lowe said they had seen the Pope at Mass in St Peter’s Square.

The couple’s careers have diverged since their early days on the small screen.

In July 1997, after travel-themed ‘Where In The World?’ had finished its near decade-long run, Ms Lowe was called to the Bar of Ireland, watched by her parents John and Marie Lowe.

She previously said: “Mam and Dad worked so hard to make sure that we were given every opportunity and encouragement in life and they were mad about all of us and particularly about each other.”

Ms Lowe is a sister of Senator Joan Freeman, who lost out in the presidential race to Michael D Higgins.

Mr McNamara, from Thurles in Co Tipperary, was the youngest of two children, and began playing the family piano at age three.

At 13 he won a scholarship to the Royal Irish Academy of Music before studying music at Trinity, and began working with the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra at 18.

A month later, he auditioned for ‘The Late Late Show’ to accompany entrants in a talent competition it was running. He got the job.

In March 2007, he was unveiled as a candidate for the Progressive Democrats, but was not successful in getting elected.

While pursuing other careers, the couple also began to dabble in property investment, which ultimately turned sour when the economy crashed.

In total, their debts reached €3.7m and although their greatest asset, their four-bed home in Dunshaughlin, Co Meath, is worth around €500,000, the amount owed by the couple totals €2.3m. The court heard they had been unable to meet repayments for several years.

The judge also heard the duo, in an attempt to escape financial problems, began to remortgage some of their properties and sold others – but still the debts amassed.

Their mortgage was later part of a tranche of loans bought by a vulture fund. This was when the couple applied for a formal debt write-off deal in an attempt to save their home.

Their application was successful – even the judge conceded it was a “very significant write-down”.

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