Three men who were witnesses in the Catherine Nevin murder trial five years ago have brought libel proceedings against Independent Newspapersin the High Court over headlines on articles in three newspapers in early 2000.
One headline, published in the Irish independent, referred to the three as "would-be hit men" when they were not, their counsel said. This was a "false and damaging" statement.
The court heard today that without the men’s evidence, Mrs Nevin could not have been charged.
Gerard Heapes, St Nicholas Village, Mornington, Co Meath, has brought an action over a front page publication in the Evening Herald on January 25th, 2000.
Mr Heapes, together with John Jones, The Chantries, Balrothery, Balbriggan, Co Dublin, and William McClean, Harold’s Cross Road, Dublin, is also suing over a publication in the Irish Independent on February 24th, 2000. Mr Heapes, Mr Jones and Mr McClean, are further suing over material published in the Sunday Independent on March 5th, 2000.
The proceedings opened before Mr Justice Eamon de Valera and a jury today and are expected to last several days.
The defence denies the claims. It denies the words complained of bore or were understood to mean to were capable of bearing the meanings claimed and pleads the words complained of were privileged under section 18 of the Defamation Act, 1961.
Opening the case yesterday, Mr Garrett Cooney SC, for the plaintiffs, referred to the murder of Tom Nevin, husband of Catherine Nevin, at Jack White’s Inn, Co Wicklow, in 1996.
He said that between 1 and 2 a.m. on March 19th 1996 Mr Nevin was in the kitchen checking accounts.
He had a considerable amount of money in front of him. An unknown assassin entered the room and from about two feet discharged a shotgun at Mr Nevin, who died almost immediately.
In January 2000, Mrs Nevin stood accused in the Central Criminal Court on four counts - the murder of her husband and of soliciting three male individuals to commit that murder.
Those three individuals were the plaintiffs in this action and their defamation arose from the way the newspapers had referred to those people in the course of the trial.