Retired journalist John Waters has said he was facing “ruination” because of a defamation action taken against him by Kitty Holland, Social Affairs Correspondent with The Irish Times.
Mr Waters, giving evidence for the second day in the Dublin Circuit Civil Court, said it was “quite extraordinary” that a journalist with The Irish Times, which regularly editorialises about the draconian nature of the defamation law, had taken a case against another journalist arising from the expression of views about an issue of major national importance.
He said he had suffered a series of illnesses as a result of the stress involved.
Mr Waters, of Sandycove, Dublin, is being sued by Ms Holland, of Ranelagh, Dublin, arising from remarks made by him in 2017 to a Renua Ireland conference attended by about 80 people in Tullamore, Co Offaly. His remarks were published in a video posted on Facebook by the event’s organisers.
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In a reference to the death of Savita Halappanavar at University Hospital Galway in 2012, which was first reported in The Irish Times that year, Mr Waters told the event that no honest doctor could produce a case of a mother who had died because of a failure to give her an abortion.
“Savita Halappanavar is the closest they have come. We know that’s a lie. We know it’s a lie that resulted in the journalist who started the lie getting multiple awards from her colleagues,” he said.
Ms Holland claims that the comments made by Mr Waters were an obvious reference to her and meant she was dishonest and not fit to be a journalist.
Mr Waters, in response to his counsel, Feargal Kavanagh SC, said he did not defame Ms Holland or say she was a liar, but that he did say she had “started the lie” with the report in The Irish Times. He said he was not motivated by malice towards Ms Holland.
“This is not a personal matter. She is a very likable person. I have no grudges towards her whatsoever,” he said, adding that he believed Ms Holland had been “badly served” by her editors when preparing the 2012 report.
He said the staff involved in Ms Halappanavar’s care were “not kneeling around the place saying rosaries while this woman died, which was the clear implication of that article”.
Responding to Andrew Walker SC, for Ms Holland, Mr Waters said the 2012 report led to a “massive cascade” of reporting around the world that was a “grotesque lie against Ireland and the doctors and nurses involved” in Ms Halappanavar’s care.
Mr Waters said he did not agree that the findings and recommendations of subsequent inquiries had corroborated the reporting in The Irish Times.
He said he found it hard to believe a journalist would bring a defamation case against another journalist who held different views. Mr Walker asked if the witness had not taken a number of actions for defamation.
Mr Waters said he had taken 12 defamation actions, but had never sued a journalist personally. Nine of the cases involved seeking to protect the privacy of his daughter. One of the others involved his suing a newspaper, another arose from comments made on RTÉ, and a third involved The Irish Times.
The hearing of evidence is finished and the legal teams are to make closing submissions on Wednesday. Judge John O’Connor said he would be reserving his judgment which would be delivered in about eight weeks’ time.
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