A family member is going to college in a different county and they paid a deposit on a flat via check and then went up twice to pick up the keys but did not receive them as they were 'unavailable'

Now we are after finding a different apartment and moved in there but we are having trouble getting the deposit back as the landlord says over the phone the Deposit is not refundable!

l live in the Republic of Ireland and dont have much experience in this area and am not sure of the laws, but could someone tell me if the landlord has an rights to keep our deposit.. We never recieved the keys..

Thanks for reading, and any :)

Here in the USA it is legal to not give that back. If you sign up for a place and do not move in, you lose your deposit.

l know that may not help for Ireland, but l would imagine the laws ar similar.