IrelandDenis O'Brien's appeal against a €823,500 defamation damages award granted to two solicitors, Darragh Mackin and Gavin Booth, has been dismissed. In November, a High Court jury ruled that O'Brien and his spokesperson James Morrissey defamed the solicitors by implying they worked for the IRA in a 2016 press release. This statement was made in response to a report on media ownership in Ireland, co-authored by Mackin and Booth. The jury classified the defamation as 'very serious' under Supreme Court guidelines, ordering O'Brien and Morrissey to pay €411,750 each to the solicitors. Following the ruling, O'Brien's legal team challenged the award in the Court of Appeal, arguing it should not fall into the 'very serious' category. However, during a recent hearing, the court agreed to strike out the challenge after both parties reached an agreement.
Bias read (Center): The article presents a factual account of a legal case involving defamation and does not exhibit clear bias toward either party. It reports on the court's decision to dismiss the appeal without editorializing or emphasizing one side over the other.
