Defamation

The issue here is, has Sean Smiley allegedly been defamed by Joe King and Breda O’Leary?

Article 40.3.2[1] of the Irish Constitution guarantees a person the right to a good name. The legislation that governs Defamation in Ireland is the Defamation Act 2009[2]. Section 2[3] of the act states that a :

“ defamatory statement” is a statement that tends to injure a person’s reputation in the eyes of reasonable members of society, and “defamatory” shall be construed accordingly.

A defamatory statement can either be written, verbal, visual images, sounds, gestures or any other method of signifying meaning and therefore a false verbal accusation can constitute defamation. So, for Sean Smiley to bring a defamation claim, there must be three factors that fall under the category of defamation. Firstly, the comments must have been communicated to a third party.  Section 6(2)[4] of the 2009 Act provides that the tort of defamation consists of the publication of a defamatory statement to a third party (a). Publication means communication to a third party (i.e. not the plaintiff). Secondly, the accusation must refer to the claimant and thirdly, the statement must have been false.

In Nolan v Laurence Lounge t/a Grace’s Pub,[5] it was found that Leonard Nolan was defamed by Desmond Bond, the barman from  Grace’s  Pub in Rathmines Dublin. Mr Nolan told the court he went into the pub on his way home at around 8.30 pm, ordered a pint and placed a €10 note on the counter. The barman decided to pick up the note and holding it in the air he said: “you can clearly see that is fake ”.  Mr Nolan stated that there were about ten customers in the pub and two were sitting at the counter at the time of the incident, where the barman was speaking very loudly and that the other customers could clearly overhear the conversation.  Mr Justice McGrath said while he could not be certain as to what happened on the night, he regarded the evidence of Mr Nolan as “being more probable and likely”. He also regarded the publication of the defamatory statement, while there were in customers in the bar, as being excessive and awarded Mr Nolan €5,000 in damages.

It is clearly seen in the case above that a publication made orally can amount to defamation, as it was overheard by third parties. If the statement was just made to Mr Nolan without third parties then there would not have been a case of Defamation. Therefore, Sean Smiley can bring a defamation action but only, against Joe King as it was, he who published the accusation. Sam Smiley cannot take an action against Brenda O’Leary as she only published the accusation to Sean Smiley personally and not a third party.

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[1] Article 40.3.2⁰

[2] Defamation Act 2009.

[3] Defamation Act 2009 Section 2.

[4] Defamation Act 2009, Section 6(2).

[5] Nolan v Laurence Lounge t/a Grace’s Pub [2018] IEHC 352.