Declan Breathnach apologises over defamation tweet

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

Declan Breathnach apologised over a defamation tweet at the High Court on 9 July 2020, when proceedings brought by Mary Lou McDonald were settled. The former Fianna Fáil TD’s apology concerned an October 2018 Twitter post about the Sinn Féin leader.

Breathnach said he had wrongly accused McDonald of hypocrisy and of condoning murders of members of An Garda Síochána, and withdrew the accusations. The remaining settlement terms, including a financial settlement, were confidential, with final orders expected to be considered at a later mention.