Kilkenny People article 'hugely contributed' to loss of Dáil seat, FG's Paudie Coffey tells court

A Fine Gael senator suing over a newspaper story which he says described him as a robber told the High Court he was shocked and upset when he saw the article.

Kilkenny People article 'hugely contributed' to loss of Dáil seat, FG's Paudie Coffey tells court

A Fine Gael senator suing over a newspaper story which he says described him as a robber told the High Court he was shocked and upset when he saw the article.

"I just could not believe what it contained", said Sen Paudie Coffey.

He said the article "hugely contributed" to the loss of his Dáil seat in 2016, was "a pure fabrication" and caused him to be subject to public ridicule.

He was forced to bring defamation proceedings because the paper, the Kilkenny People, refused to retract and offer redress for the January 2016 article, he said.

Headed "Coffey the Robber", it carried comments from Sen Coffey's FG colleague, John Paul Phelan TD, about proposals to extend part of the local administrative area of Kilkenny into neighbouring Waterford.

The paper quoted verbatim from a press release issued by Deputy Phelan in which he referred to an 18th century figure called Crotty the Robber who led a gang of "bloodthirsty" highwaymen in the Comeragh Mountains. "Now Coffey the Robber is trying to do the very same", Deputy Phelan said.

Sen Coffey said he learned of the article from an email sent by former Ireland international rugby player, Mick Galwey, to a first cousin of the senator. Mr Galwey had taken a photo of the article with a comment : "Is this the best headline ever in the Kilkenny People this week, class, not even the Bomber will get ye out of this!!!!!!"

He told his counsel, Barney Quirke, he was later subject to comments and ridicule at funerals, social events, hurling and rugby matches.

At a rugby match in Thomond Park in 2016, he met Mick Galwey who was in the company of others, including well-known fellow rugby players, when Mr Galwey "turned round and said here comes Coffey the robber and there was a big laugh".

While he laughed along, it was this incident that made him feel he had to do something to stop this. He said that after he lost his Dáil seat, he got "so low" that he contemplated leaving politics.

He had also failed to win election to Seanad Eireann, but in July 2016, Enda Kenny appointed him as a Taoiseach's nominee.

Cross-examined by Rossa Fanning SC, for the paper, he accepted he had only seen the Deputy Phelan press release for the first time in the witness box. He did not think of suing Deputy Phelan, or asking him for a retraction or apology, because it was not him who published the article.

He disagreed with counsel it would have been "politically impossible to sue Deputy Phelan because you are a member of the same party" and repeated it was not him (Phelan) who published it.

He agreed he had met Deputy Phelan many times at parliamentary party meetings since the article was published but said the only time they spoke about it was last year.

He said Deputy Phelan approached him asking about him suing the Kilkenny People. "He said: can't you be bigger and step back and I said no, I was damaged by that paper".

He agreed he did not make a complaint to the chairman of the FG parliamentary party about a colleague making these "outrageous" remarks about him.

When counsel suggested had not done so because "it was not all that serious", he replied it was a serious matter he had been concerned about for a long time.

Mr Fanning said did he think Mick Galwey was being serious. "He ridiculed me", Sen Coffey said.

"Are you seriously suggesting it was other than a joke", counsel asked.

It was a joke at my expense.

Was he asking the jury to take the article literally. "I can only read what is on front of me".

Mr Fanning said "Crotty the Robber" had a reputation for cannibalism. Was he asking the jury to say he was a cannibal.

Sen Coffey said he was not aware Crotty was a cannibal but he was aware he was a murderer.

He agreed it did not mean he was a murderer or the leader of a gang of highwaymen. It did however compare him to a robber, he said.

It did not mean he was hiding in a cave in the Comeragh mountains but he said he was from the Comeragh area.

He disagreed it was a play on words.

It is not responsible journalism and it is not a joke in my eye.

The case continues.

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