AN application by a carpenter to bring a criminal prosecution for blasphemous libel against Independent Newspapers (Ireland) Ltd, Independent plc and the editor of the Sunday Independent, Mr Aengus Fanning, was heard in camera by Mr Justice Geoghegan in the High Court yesterday.
Mr John Corway, of Harold's Cross Cottages, Dublin, claims he was outraged and insulted by a cartoon in a Sunday Independent publicatin, last year.
When Mr Gerard Brady, counsel, applied on behalf of Mr Corway for permission to be allowed to pursue a criminal prosecution for blasphemous libel, Mr John McMenamin SC, for the defendants, said that he had an obligation to draw the court's attention to Section 8 of the 1961 Defamation Act. This required that the application be heard in camera. His clients were prepared to waive that requirement. Mr Brady said that he had no objection if the matter was heard in open court.
Mr Justice Geoghegan, having considered the legislation, directed that the application be heard in camera.
Earlier, the President of the High Court, Mr Justice Costello, was told that, besides the Sunday Independent case, there were two other similar applications on behalf of Mr Corway against The Irish Times and against Mr Niall Stokes, of Hot Press magazine.
Mr Colm Condon SC, for The Irish Times, said that the three cases should not be taken together. They involved different matters. The cases against the Sunday Independent and The Irish Times involved cartoons in each newspaper. The action against Mr Stokes concerned a written article.
Mr Justice Costello fixed July 24th for the application relating to The Irish Times and July 25th for the application relating to Mr Stokes and Hot Press.