Enoch Burke loses High Court defamation case over newspaper article

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

Enoch Burke lost his defamation case against the Sunday Independent at the High Court, in a ruling reported on 13 June 2024.

Mr Justice Rory Mulcahy held that the article’s words were incapable of injuring Burke’s reputation. He said the seven paragraphs complained of were untrue, but that untrue statements alone do not give a remedy under defamation law. The judge found no evidence of malice or recklessness by the defendants.

On 18 July 2024, the High Court ordered Burke to pay Mediahuis Ireland’s legal costs, including reserved costs and costs relating to written submissions. The principal costs arose from the four days spent hearing the case in May.