Fiachra Gallagher

2 weeks ago | irishtimes.com | Fiachra Gallagher

The BBC is facing a legal costs bill of more €3 million after a High Court jury in Dublin found the broadcaster defamed Gerry Adams in a 2016 broadcast and related article, legal sources have said. The former Sinn Féin leader claimed the Spotlight programme and article defamed him by falsely accusing him of giving “the final say” in the murder of MI5 informant Denis Donaldson at a cottage in Glenties, Co Donegal, in 2006. Mr Adams described the allegation during the trial as a “grievous smear”.

2 weeks ago | irishtimes.com | Fiachra Gallagher

The BBC defamed Gerry Adams by publishing a claim that he sanctioned the murder of a British agent, a High Court jury has found, awarding the former Sinn Féin leader €100,000 in damages to restore his reputation. Mr Adams claimed the 2016 Spotlight programme and a related article defamed him by falsely accusing him of giving “the final say” in the murder of MI5 informant Denis Donaldson at a cottage in Glenties, Co Donegal, in 2006.

2 weeks ago | irishtimes.com | Fiachra Gallagher

Jane Donaldson, daughter of the murdered British agent Denis Donaldson, was prevented from giving evidence during Gerry Adams’s defamation legal action against the BBC. Without the jury present, Ms Donaldson told Mr Justice Alexander Owens her family has an “open mind” regarding who is responsible for her father’s killing but does not believe the Real IRA’s claim to it. The Real IRA claimed responsibility for Mr Donaldson’s murder three years after his killing.

2 weeks ago | irishtimes.com | Fiachra Gallagher

The jury in Gerry Adams’s defamation action against the BBC has resumed its deliberations. The former Sinn Féin leader claims a BBC Spotlight programme and a related article published in 2016 defamed him by falsely accusing him of sanctioning the killing of British agent Denis Donaldson at a cottage in Glenties, Co Donegal, in 2006. He described the allegation as a “grievous smear”. He insists he had no involvement in Mr Donaldson’s death.

3 weeks ago | irishtimes.com | Fiachra Gallagher

The jury in Gerry Adams’s defamation action against the BBC at the High Court in Dublin has started its deliberations. Mr Justice Alexander Owens finished summarising the evidence for the seven men and five women of the jury on Wednesday evening. He previously told them at least nine of them must be in agreement in deciding the case.