![]() References in the articles to the plaintiff burning clothes and washing boots did not injure his reputation having regard to the truth of the charges which had been established that he was a murder suspect and accordingly, were partially justified under section 22 of the Defamation Act 1961. Moreover, the articles in question did not, on a reading of them as an ordinary person, convey that the plaintiff was a murderer but that he was the main suspect for a murder. Whether the plaintiff had been violent towards women was a question of fact for the trial judge to decide and he was satisfied that the defendants were justified in referring to him as being violent towards women generally and accordingly, had not been defamed by publications to that effect. When a court is deciding whether an allegation of defamation has been proven, it had to deal with the ordinary and natural meaning of the words complained of. Held by Judge Moran in awarding the plaintiff Eur4,000 each as against the first and sixth defendants in respect of articles alleging that the plaintiff had been violent towards his ex-wife and dismissing the actions against the second, third, fourth, fifth and seventh defendants that a claim of libel alleges that the standing of the person the libel is published about has been reduced in the eyes of an ordinary person. The defendants’ first defence was one of justification, the second being one of partial justification and the defendants argued that if neither of those succeeded they would rely on the defences of consent, qualified privilege and contributory negligence. ![]() The plaintiff brought seven actions for defamation arising from the different articles. Various newspaper articles subsequently appeared and the plaintiff complained of the treatment he received from seven different publications. "Any person with any information which may be relevant to the Garda investigation should contact Baltinglass Garda Station on 0, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any Garda station.Facts: the plaintiff had been arrested on suspicion of murder. Similarly, if any road user was travelling in the area and who may has camera (including dash cam) footage is asked to make this available to investigating Gardaí. "Any person who was in the village of Ballyconnell last night between 7pm and 8.15pm and who may have camera footage of the area is asked to make this available. "Anyone who was in the village of Ballyconnell yesterday or any person who noticed any unusual activity in Ballyconnell yesterday evening is asked to contact investigating Gardaí. "Gardaí in Baltinglass are appealing to any person who may have information in relation to this incident to contact them.
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