Paddy Cosgrave wins costs in Robert Quirke defamation case

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

Paddy Cosgrave was awarded his costs relating to a pretrial motion and its hearing in Robert Quirke’s defamation case on 28 November 2022.

The motion for judgment in default of defence followed the filing of Cosgrave’s defence one day outside the prescribed time limit. Quirke says a tweet posted on 20 March 2021 identified him and was calculated to damage his reputation. Cosgrave denies the defamation claim and says his statement was true.

Mr Justice Garrett Simons said a late defence should incur a €750 cost penalty. He found that, although blame lay on both sides, Quirke’s application for costs or to reserve them until the full hearing was unreasonable.

The judge awarded Cosgrave his costs relating to the motion and the hearing. Quirke’s defamation claim was to come before the court at a later date.