Paul Ceglia, the New Yorker claiming rights to half of Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook fortune, is hanging out in Galway.

Ceglia has taken refuge in the West of Ireland as his court battle with Zuckerberg continues in the United States.

Now a wood-pellet salesman, Ceglia launched a legal challenge last year when he claimed ownership of 84 per cent of Facebook. He has since dropped his claim to 50 per cent.

The multi-billion dollar case goes back to an alleged 2003 contract between Ceglia and Zuckerberg in which he claims he offered the defendant $1,000 to work as a programmer on a project called Street Fax.

The claim also state that Ceglia believes the contract also shows that he paid Zuckerberg an additional $1,000 for a 50 per cent stake in a project entitled both ‘The Face Book’ and ‘The Page Book’.

Ceglia fled America after alleging that that he was being pursued by ‘hired guns’ working on behalf of the Facebook organization.

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He has now resurfaced in the West of Ireland and spoke to the local Connacht Sentinel newspaper.

“I am in Galway. I’d like to keep my exact location private for obvious reasons,” said Ceglia as he looks to link up with local based relative Frank Keaveney.

“I came here about two months ago. I’ve searched for my uncle every time I go to Tuam but I haven’t had any luck finding him. We spent a lot of time together when I was a kid.”

Ceglia told the paper that he had been in Galway for two months. “I came here to make sure Facebook’s hired guns couldn’t just continue to follow my every move.”

The case continues in America this week with the Facebook organization denying the authenticity of Ceglia’s claims.