Latest news with #Nolan-O'Slatarra's
Sunday World
6 days ago
- Sunday World
Tragic Martha Nolan O'Slatarra came through divorce and lawsuit to fight for her US dream
Creative 'dreamer' endured divorce and legal worries after accusations from former employers in the States Martha Nolan O'Slatarra was found dead at the luxurious Montauk Yacht Club in The Hamptons An Irish fashion entrepreneur found dead on a yacht in New York was living the American dream after coming through a divorce and a separate but very bitter lawsuit relating to her work with a luxury sunglasses brand. Papers dissolving the marriage of Martha Nolan-O'Slatarra to former husband Sam Ryan had been filed with the County's Supreme Court earlier this year. According to the filings, Ms Nolan-O'Slatarra's divorce was uncontested and the records indicate that no issues had arisen during the proceedings. In April of this year, lawyer David Centeno filed a certificate of dissolution of the marriage, a proposed judgement of divorce and a separation agreement with the New York County Supreme Court. On Thursday of this week, the same court was informed by Mr Centeno that Ms Nolan-O'Slatarra has passed away. The Montauk Yacht Club in The Hamptons The Carlow born 33-year-old was found dead on a boat at the Montauk Yacht Club in East Hampton on Long Island at 12am local time on Tuesday. Detectives in the US have said a post-mortem examination 'did not show evidence of violence and her final cause of death is pending further examination'. They also said a 'preliminary investigation and exam', after they arrived at the scene, 'were inconclusive' in informing a cause of death for the businesswoman. Ms Nolan-O'Slatarra's remains are currently in the custody of the Suffolk County Medical Examiner's Office as her loved ones await news on when they will be released for repatriation home to Ireland. Her family have been told that a final post-mortem report, including toxicological, histological and other testing, will take at least three months to complete. Although Ms Nolan O'Slatarra's social media accounts painted a picture-perfect lifestyle, with videos capturing her enjoying helicopter rides, driving convertibles and sitting in luxury jets, the energetic and successful businesswoman had also endured difficulties in business in recent years. A model poses in a bikini for Martha's East x East swimwear brand She and Limerick-born business partner Dylan Grace were previously sued in the US by the founder of luxury sunglasses brand 'Out East Accessories Inc'. In a 21-page-complaint filed before the District Court for the Southern State of New York in April 2022, lawyers for the company described the pair as two former employees of Out East, claiming they had been terminated for cause in November 2021. The court filings claimed that in the weeks leading up to their termination and for months after, both Grace and Nolan-O'Slatarra took the company's assets. This included $34,000 remaining in Out East's bank account and all of Out East's eyewear inventory. The court filings also claimed the pair 'sold or gifted the eyewear without authorization, to enrich themselves at a total loss to the company'. Martha Nolan O'Slatarra was found dead at the luxurious Montauk Yacht Club in The Hamptons News in 90 seconds - 10th August 2025 This is an action, the court filings stated, 'first and foremost, to recover from defendants all intellectual property, cash, and to prevent them from doing any further damage to Out East. 'In addition, Out East is seeking damages against both defendants for their egregious actions. 'Based on company valuations prior to defendants' actions, Out East has suffered millions of dollars in damages, in a specific amount to be determined at trial,' the documents claimed. The case was ultimately settled in June of 2022 and dismissed the following month. In the wake of her departure from Out East, Ms Nolan O'Slatarra went about setting up her own luxury brand, 'East x East' which came online in 2023. A model poses in Martha's Out East sunglasses She subsequently launched a series of pop-up boutiques in The Hamptons, featuring her line of swimwear and sunglasses. And just weeks before her death, she celebrated a milestone by hosting a pop-up shop for the lifestyle brand at the popular Gurney's resort in Montauk. Mr Grace, who was Ms Nolan-O'Slatarra's co-defendant in the Out East case, this week paid tribute to her on social media. 'I'm truly blessed and grateful to have had you in my life,' he said. 'We dreamed big together, laughed harder than anyone else could understand, and built so much from nothing. The first concerns for Ms Nolan O'Slatarra's welfare arose at 12am Tuesday local time when a man called 911, according to the Suffolk County Police Department. Suffolk police said 'good Samaritans' tried to perform CPR, but Ms Nolan-O'Slatarra was pronounced dead on the boat by first responders. It emerged yesterday that Ms Nolan-O'Slatarra had spoken to her boyfriend in the hours before she died, telling him that she was going to book an Uber and would be home around 1am. It is understood that the couple were staying in the Montauk area for the summer. Ms Nolan-O'Slatarra's boyfriend was not on the boat with her and she had told him she was meeting someone in connection with her business, it is understood. It's understood all those who spoke with or had interactions with Ms Nolan-O'Slatarra will be spoken to by detectives as part of the investigation. The circumstances surrounding the mystery death of Ms Nolan-O'Slatarra have shaken locals and visitors alike. A spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs said its officials were aware of the case and providing consular assistance. Speaking to the Irish Independent on Wednesday, Ms Nolan-O'Slatarra's mother Elma expressed her anguish over her daughter's death. 'I feel numb and in shock,' she said. 'My younger daughter, Jacqui, arrived in on Tuesday night and she was crying and shaking. 'She said, 'I have terrible news, Martha's dead'.' The mother of two said that she was struggling to get information about the circumstances surrounding her daughter's death since she received the news. 'I don't know what happened to my daughter,' she said. 'We weren't told anything about the circumstances.'
Sunday World
08-08-2025
- Sunday World
Eye-witness describes desperate attempts to save Irish fashion designer on New York yacht
'We heard someone shouting, stuff bouncing off the side of the boat. He threw sunscreen at our boat trying to wake us up' The first person who went to the aid of Irish fashion designer Martha Nolan-O'Slatarra at the Montauk Yacht Club in New York has described the efforts made to save her life. The 33-year-old Carlow native was found unconscious on the boat shortly after midnight local time on Tuesday. Two people who were fast asleep on a nearby boat were woken up by 'screaming' and saw a man running down the dock in a panic. 'We were sound asleep,' the eyewitness, who asked not to be identified, told The New York Post. 'We heard someone shouting, stuff bouncing off the side of the boat. He threw sunscreen at our boat trying to wake us up. 'He was running up and down, naked, screaming, 'Do something'. According to the eye-witness, they called 911 before boarding the Ripple where Nolan-O'Slatarra lay. Suffolk County police confirmed that bystanders had tried to resuscitate the designer before first responders arrived — but it was too late. The 911 caller and his pal, who are regulars at the yacht club, added that they did not recognise Nolan-O'Slatarra. News in 90 Seconds - Aug 8th Cops had said there was no evidence of violence done to Nolan-O'Slatarra's body, but have not yet ruled out foul play or released details of the department's investigation. The Post reports how Nolan-O'Slatarra moved to Manhattan in 2018 'from the small Irish town of Carlow', and she started off as a bottle service girl in Soho before founding East x East, her swimwear fashion company. 'Gifted at marketing, she summered in the Hamptons in recent years where she hosted pop-ups for the upscale clientele drawn to Montauk and surrounding resort towns,' the Post reports. 'It was very obvious to me that she was very driven and wanted to succeed,' one local businessman told the Post. 'I got the impression that she is a young, ambitious, driven young woman who had a vision, and she thought that Montauk was a very good fit.' Ms Nolan-O'Slatarra's remains are currently in the custody of the Suffolk County Medical Examiner's Office while, the Irish Independent reports, her family have been told that a final post-mortem report, toxicological, histological and other testing, will take at least three months to complete. Ms Nolan-O'Slatarra's mother said she learned about her daughter's death on Tuesday night, but has been left in the dark about what happened on the boat where she was found. Martha Nolan O'Slatarra 'I feel numb and in shock,' she told the Irish Independent. 'My younger daughter, Jacqui, arrived in on Tuesday night and she was crying and shaking. She said, 'I have terrible news, Martha's dead'.' 'I don't know what happened,' her mother said. 'We weren't told anything about the circumstances.' Ms Nolan last spoke to her daughter on July 29 in relation to plans she had for a visit home this week. 'She wanted to know if I would be around to pick her up,' she said. 'It was a very quick call because she is so busy, but that's the last time we spoke. The New York Post said Carlow-born Nolan-O'Slatarra was a 'popular Big Apple designer' who was a well-known local figure at the upscale waterfront community in the Hamptons. They say the tragedy has shaken many in Montauk, a summer retreat known for its wealth. The yacht club's clientele has included some of the nation's most famous figures, including JP Morgan, Vincent Astor, Harold Vanderbilt and Charles Lindbergh, according to its website. Martha's business partner Dylan Grace, who started the design company East x East with her in 2023 posted a moving farewell message on Instagram on Wednesday. 'We dreamed big together, laughed harder than anyone else could understand and built so much for nothing,' he wrote. 'I'm truly blessed and grateful to have had you in my life,' Grace wrote. 'Love you so much Mar. Fly high girl.' Last month, she celebrated a pop-up shop at the exclusive Montauk spa, the Gurney's Resort, who said they were 'deeply saddened by the tragic news regarding Martha Nolan'. '(We) extend our sincere condolences to her family and loved ones,' the spa said in a statement Wednesday. 'While Martha was not an employee of Gurney's, we were proud to host her East x East pop-up and admired her entrepreneurial spirit and creative vision,' the statement added. Ms Nolan-O'Slatarra worked in Ireland until 2015 when she emigrated to the US. She set up East x East, a luxury brand for sunglasses, swimwear and resort wear for men and women. She was also director of operations at investment firm K4 Capital and ran an Amazon fashion brand, Duper. During a phone conversation with a homicide detective in Montauk, her mother said she was directed to the medical examiner's office for more information. 'The detective said Martha was dead, that he was sorry,' she said. 'I asked him where she was and he said she was on a boat. 'I asked him who she was with. He said he couldn't release information because it was too early on in the investigation. He instructed me to phone the medical examiner's office.'
Daily Mirror
06-08-2025
- Daily Mirror
Fashion designer found dead on Hamptons yacht club boat after glitzy brand launch
A 33 year-old New York fashion designer celebrated the launch of her new chic lifestyle brand in style, before her body was found on a boat at a luxury yacht club A young fashion designer has been found dead on a yacht club boat, having recently celebrated the launch of her very own lifestyle brand in a glamorous Hamptons resort. The founder of fashion label East x East, Martha Nolan-O'Slatarra, was discovered unconscious at midnight onboard a boat that was docked at the Montauk Yacht Club. Good Samaritans rushed out and made attempts to save her life, but East Hampton Town Police later pronounced her dead at the scene. The details that led to her death remain unknown but are being investigated by the Suffolk County Medical Examiner's Office. While it's unclear exactly how the 33-year-old died, a boater at the scene described the ship in which she was found, named Ripple, as in fact a 'party boat'. The witness told the Daily Mail that she heard screams when the designer's body was found. In a TikTok post on July 1, she shared a video of her bikinis and beach wear captioned 'goals achieved', encouraging her followers to attend the store. Residents of the wealthy area were left reeling with questions about what exactly took place the night that the young woman died. Many people claimed that she was "well known in the community", the New York Post reports. 'One local said: "She was very friendly, always smiling. There's going to be a lot of conversation out of this." Meanwhile, another regular at the yacht club seemed to believe that the boat belonged to Nolan-O'Slatarra's boyfriend and was registered in Long Beach, New York. Nolan-O'Slatarra was an Irish designer living in New York who, weeks before her death, hosted the grand opening of her brand's popup shop at Gurney's. The boater shared: "We come here every summer, and nothing like this ever happens. The police have been here all day since four in the morning." Police officers were seen stopping guests at the Montauk Yacht Club into the early hours of Wednesday, as the area was being cordoned off. In the summer months, the famed club's rooms can cost around $1,500 for its lavish visitors, with the same rooms around $865 in the colder months. The club's impressive location offers luxurious accommodation, spa facilities, a pool, a beach, harbour cruises, biking and yoga. The designer's pop-up shop was not the only thing hosted by the Montauk Yacht Club, as Patrick Ta hosted an event there this past weekend, which saw a star-studded guest list, including influencers Alix Earle and Remi Bader. Online snaps show the celebs overlooking the breathtaking marina, which is now the scene of a crime. Although there is no indication that these events are connected to the discovery of Martha Nolan-O'Slatarra's body.
