A Co Monaghan man who posted an item on Facebook in which he alleged that the national director of Ireland’s game shooting body had caused the organisation to go "broke" has been ordered to pay €75,000 in damages.
The civil action was taken against John Gilsenan of Grigg, Doohamlet, Castleblayney.
In awarding what was termed as the maximum allowable damages in the legislation, Judge John O'Hagan said his order should "teach people posting messages on the social media site to be very careful".
Desmond Crofton of Cedarwood House, Stonestown in Co Offaly, took the action against Mr Gilsenan in relation to a Facebook comment posted on or about 22 December 2015.
Monaghan Circuit Court heard the allegedly defamatory item on Facebook suggested Mr Crofton had caused the National Regional Game Council to go "broke".
Mr Crofton gave an outline of how the Facebook comment had resulted in questions being raised by members about the organisation's finances, and legal costs, and had resulted in a confrontation that led to him being suspended on full pay by the body.
He said an allegation which suggested there was money squandered was totally untrue, as the organisation, which has around 24,000 members, was completely solvent at the time and enjoyed a surplus in its accounts of more than €7.5m.
Mr Gilsenan did not appear in court and counsel said that although he engaged in some early communication with the plaintiff, he had since "abandoned all communications" in relation to the matter.
Judge O'Hagan granted the award of €75,000 damages with costs.
