Judgment will be delivered today on an application by a Dublin radio station, FM104, for an injunction against its former late-night presenter, Chris Barry, and his company.
In the High Court, FM104 is seeking an interlocutory injunction to stop Mr Barry, whose real name is Ciaran Gaffney, broadcasting on 98FM pending the full hearing of an action between the sides at a later date.
During the hearing, Mr Barry denied he ever indicated to FM104 that the reason he was leaving the station was that he wanted to be with a boyfriend or that he was mentally unwell.
Mr Barry, of Lutterell Park Close, Castleknock, Dublin, said he taped a phone conversation with the FM104 station chief, Mr Dermot Hanrahan, before a meeting on December 5th, 1997, to discuss his position at the station.
The chat show host said Mr Hanrahan had threatened him during this conversation by indicating that he was going to publish in the newspapers that Mr Barry was mentally ill. It was clear from the transcript of their conversation that FM104 intended to damage him professionally and in his personal life, he said.
"At no stage did I indicate to the plaintiff that I was leaving because I wanted to be with a boyfriend or that I was mentally or psychologically unwell," Mr Barry said in an affidavit.
It was "normal practice" for him to either tape phone conversations or have a recorder on during the course of phone conversations because this was the nature of his work as a talk show presenter, he said.
During the hearing it was alleged that Mr Barry, whose contract with FM104 expires on January 31st, 1999, neglected to honour the terms of his contract by failing or refusing to present his late-night show since last December 4th.
Mr Barry, in his statement, said he was never given a professionally trained producer or people with appropriate broadcasting experience to help him with his show. Because of the strain this imposed, it had a deleterious effect on his health and ability and he lost all interest in work due to the way he was being treated.
Legal action brought against him by FM104 was an attempt to restrain him from entering into a contractual commitment with a new radio station, which had promised to provide him with a fully-qualified producer and full research assistance in the future.
Mr Ercus Stewart SC, for FM104, is seeking an interlocutory injunction against Mr Barry and his firm, Pavilion Company Ltd, from providing services as a radio presenter for any night-time show in the greater Dublin area until January 31st, 1999.