Courts / Ireland / Report
Web summit founder 'heavily edited' call recording in effort to damage fellow director, lawyers allege
Summary
In a High Court hearing on 20 March 2025, Web Summit founder Paddy Cosgrave is accused of heavily editing a 2021 call recording with former director David Kelly and distributing it to staff to damage Kelly. The recording, played in court, shows Kelly calling Cosgrave a "scumbag" and accusing him of "making shit up." Cosgrave is suing Kelly for breach of director duties, while Kelly and Daire Hickey sue Cosgrave for minority shareholder oppression and breach of a profit‑sharing agreement. Both parties deny the allegations. The case, described as a "bitter" multi‑million‑euro dispute, is listed for nine weeks before Mr Justice Michael Twomey. No judgment has been issued, and the proceedings remain at the hearing stage.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Web summit founder 'heavily edited' call recording in effort to damage fellow director, lawyers allege. Procedural stage: charge_or_pretrial
When:
- December 5, 2016 Incident
- March 2021 Other
- 2025-03-20 Publication
Case subjects
Applicant
Places mentioned
- The High Court
- High Court
Topics
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