Sir, – The observations of Kathy Sheridan ("Reporters have strong case in battle for court documents", Opinion & Analysis, April 15th) and Paul Murray (April 16th) on the joys of reporting our courts for the media ring very true. As someone who has spent the best part of the last 35 years covering every court, from the District Court to the Supreme Court, for the national media, I can only agree that there is a deficit in the official attitude towards journalists who ply their trade in the legal system.
The stalwarts who on a daily basis, whether for the various agencies or for individual media organisations, report on the workings of the courts deserve recognition for the difficult work they carry out.
Without the help of sympathetic court staff and the unfailing aid of gardaí and prison officers (who for obvious reasons remain nameless), the daily litany of crime, punishment and litigation would remain unreported.
The main culprits are those in the legal profession, ranging from junior barristers to judges, who as Paul Murray pointed out, regard journalists doing their job as “intruders” in the courts process.
My many hardworking colleagues doing the daily slog of reporting our criminal and civil justice system are carrying out a constitutional imperative – that justice should be administered in public.
We are the eyes and ears of the public watching and reporting on the cases that affect all of our lives.
If we are blinded by official and unofficial negligence and carelessness then all of society is blinded. – Yours, etc,
DIARMAID
MacDERMOTT,
Ireland International
News Agency,
Clare Street,
Dublin 2.