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BUSINESSMAN DENIS O’BRIEN has been awarded €150,000 in damages in his defamation case against the Irish Daily Mail newspaper.
O’Brien was awarded the sum in relation to an article by journalist Paul Drury published in the newspaper three years ago.
The jury found that Drury’s article, while based on honest opinion, was neither based on full facts or in the public interest, RTÉ News reports.
O’Brien has won a huge victory. It was never about the money – €150,000 plus costs is chump change to him. What he has achieved is what he set out to do: to put down a marker to other journalists thinking of criticising him – do that and your ass will end up in court. There will be no further critical opinion pieces about in the Irish media. It is a sad day for journalism.
We can expect no less from our legal system but to vigourously defend the rights of all of our vulnerable multi millionaires .
For lets not forgey they are vastly outnumbered by the great unwashed.
I disagree. This was a victory against lowest common denominator journalism. It’s a decision that potentially benefits the ordinary citizen because editors of the ‘red tops’ will be more cautious about publishing defamatory stories about people, loosely based on fact, who may not be able to afford to vindicate their good name. In any event, it’s a decision by a jury not a judge so clearly the ordinary citizen jurors felt Mr O’Brien had been defamed. An interesting argument that the paper might have raised in its defence is whether Mr O’Brien had a good name to vindicate in light of the Tribunal findings. Haven’t been following the story so don’t know was this addressed at trial.
Barry why do you speculate that this case may help a person without wealth to defend their good name. How does it possibly confer that ?
Because Brian most people here just hate anyone with wealth.
I think the hole in your argument is to associate the irish daily mail with journalism to be honest.
In fairness. he was in the right here. You just simply can’t make a story up out of nothing. Digicel have a huge operation in Haiti and make a lot of money there. It was unsurprising that O’Brien an co would play a role in the recovery. O’Brien may well be seeking the spotlight in this role (as many would and he wouldn’t be the first to do so) but to say he was using this natural disaster to distract from the Moriarity report is just clutching at straws and ridiculous. A tenuous piece like this is not good journalism and it was a sad day for journalism when it was published in the first place.
Wonder will he donate that money to Haiti?
He probably will and we’l hear all about it.
No chance that’s 10years membership to the k club.
Denis O’brien is a f…… c… . My opinion.
Fully agree
Damn it, I was just about to say something bad about Denis :(
Gwan ahead – €150k was good value for them to get the story 90% right…
Denis is a bilderberg attendee, well connected to the banking interests. Other connected lads are Noonan, john Bruton, McDowell, Peter Sutherland. The control these people have over the media is frightening. Everything I wrote here is verifiable so don’t delete.
I won’t write down what I know Denis O’Brien did here. But I’ll be telling it to everyone I meet. I invite everyone in Ireland to do the same. And maybe push for prosecutions from Moriarty.
Billionaire or not, the press should not give an ill informed opinion. They should report on a factual basis.
What are you basing that statement on ?
Outcome of the court case I presume.
I’d be closing down the comments on this one – just in case like!
Delighted at this news. Just because you’ve made money does not leave you open to gutter English press. Nobody should be submitted to underhand and libellous lies.
Read the Tribunal Report
What a travesty. Seriously despair for this country.
This world is far too harsh for one as sensitive as Denis. His pain is worth at least €150k. poor fellah.
Bloody Sunday victims 50,000 what has this world come to and who really has the power is it the Denis o briens of the world ?
Denis O’Brien has every right to use the law to defend his name. Journalists think its acceptable to blacken someone’s name and call it freedom of information. Success and wealth may carry distasteful connotations in modern day Ireland but that doesn’t mean everyone that is wealthy and successful are shady and distrustful. Well done Denis, hopefully the press will think twice now before libelling someone but I wouldn’t hold my breath.
Libelling someone. His actions over the last while do that for him.
Not according to the courts.
Do you play golf with him?
Say you still believe Lance Armstrong is clean John
Well the jury found the journalists opinion was not based on full facts or in the public interest . So what constitutes “full” facts or public interest . Bit nebulous or at least maleable , no?
Dobby has the deep pockets pockets to exercise this “right” in court where the rest of us simply have to suck this stuff up.
This is a bad news story.
No, I can’t play golf.
@ Brian. A story not based on full facts is one made up out of a small portion of facts and manipulated to make it look like it is something it isn’t. A bit like the Da Vinci code. As for it being in the publics interest, give me a break. Newspapers print stories to sell papers and scandal sells. Why not print stories about O Brien’s charity work? I don’t know DOB but I know people who work for him. Working class people like me and not one has a bad word to say about him. People need to start looking at themselves before they start throwing stones.
DOB and good name don’t go too well together in the same sentence. In Ireland he is associated with Lowery and that forever ruined his chances of ever having a good name.
Scannal uafásach, bhí mórphointe an ailt sin fíor is cosúil, bhain sé leas as Bird, is bheadh sin go mór chun a leasa féin.
Rather rude to reply in another language
Rude? Our language? Amadán!
Is deacair an bua a bheith agat in aghaidh fir móra gnó is cosúil.
I was just about to say something about Denis O’Brien when the memories of all the RTE staff came flooding back:
”Ah you can’t say that about Mr. O’Brien because he’s not here to defend himself. We’ll move onto the next topic.”
Tubridy, Pat Kenny etc. have done a fine job of stopping any truth from emerging on our beloved Denis!
Jesus I can see it now…. Dobby sitting opposite Tubby tomorrow peeling a poxy onion…..
Did not realise that TheJournal are responsible for any comments made here. That must be terrifying for them, they write and article, we all talk crap and they have to wade through it all. Nasty..
The comments are usually better than the story. That’s what makes the journal better than *** news and ******** news.
Love the journal..
Just noticed there is a reply button under every comment is that a new feature or a glitch?
Why not explain the circumstances and reasons comments are monitored/deleted/disabled in an article? Maybe it would make your jobs easier in the long term?
Not a bad idea, B. We’ll consider that!
I’m surprised The Journal allowed comments, normally they’re disabled for “Legal Reasons”
Don’t question it, congratulate them for their stance and encourage ppl not to say something that could change their stance?
That’s only for ongoing court proceedings. Doesn’t apply now that the case has concluded.
No they will just delete the comments they don’t like I don’t know what my comment was deleted, I said donate the money and it was a pr stunt why the delete
They’ve shut the comments down relating to Simon Coveney knowing about horse meat in products from Greencore….
Im with gavan on this one. I hate fg with an absolute passion. But on this one Simon coveneys doing a good job.
Sorry my comment came across wrong…
Is the journal turning into a rant zone about everything ??
O Brien won his case because a public jury decided he was libelled by a newspaper . Period . This is the system we have and they decided he won, the paper lost. It has nothing to do with golf, Simon Coveney or horses….
Great result from Denis O’Brien who has been vindicated with this action. This result couldn’t have gone against a nicer journalist either.
WestBrit media have an identity crisis as have the people who support them
Hi guys,
Apologies but the comments section will now be closed for a few hours until it can be moderated again (there have been quite a few on this thread that have had to be deleted).
Thanks for understanding,
Jennifer
When you know about the filth that were and still are involved in the construction gamble that broke this country in half, who are now living in hotels and luxury houses in Spain and getting paid by NAMA to come back to Ireland to sell their properties and claim five star expenses, having had their billions in pure gambling debt effectively forgiven, Denis O’Brien seems a saint in comparison.
Reality is, whatever happened in the Lowry affair, O’Brien has proven in the aftermatch that he is a capable business man of considerable ability.
Those involved in construction and development and bank lending in this country were incompetent dishonest imbeciles. We should be more rational about what and who we get angry about. I’m not whitewashing what the Lowry affair might have involved in the culture of the day, but it is a very small dirty deed compared to the moral crimes of the developers and the magnitude of how their ego, ignorance and arrogance have cost us a 40 billion burden. All of which was permitted, uncontrolled and encouraged by Fianna Fail.
All newspapers try and sell as many copies as possible irrespective of whether it is news, gossip, crime or scandal because that is what an awful lot people like to buy. That however does not give them the right to blacken any one’s name no matter who they are.
Like the person said above. 50K for the Bloody Sunday victims.
I’d imagine there’s a section somewhere that says something along the lines of… views expressed in the comments section are the opinion of the author and do not represent TheJournal in any way, shape or form.
If there isn’t, there bloody well should be! People should be allowed use the Internet for the free expression of opinions and ideas no? It’s not like the print media of yesteryear where they can selectively choose the “letters to the editor” section.
“With freedom comes responsibility”
Declan the Internet is privately owned. Freedom of expression, opinions is permitted and not guaranteed. Plus freedom of expression as the other person stated comes with responsibility and consequence. You just can’t make up stuff as the Mail found out.
I see a lot of comment flying around the journal accusing people of doing things with no proof what so ever. They are not deleted. In confused !
Ceart agat EOJ
150,000e …. Ha ha … Hillarious ..
Ah well at least Denis O Brien gets to keep HIS good name , That 150000 will go a long way in Haiti where he will become even more beloved and honoured , can’t be bad for business all the same, But then again this is just my opinion and I am not in business and as has been remarked on here before ”what do I know !”
Maybe he should have let the people of Haiti rot in the gutter so as not to offend your sensitivities.
Redress me by my proper name ya little bo!!ix…
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