Irish Times journalist John Waters has won his libel action against the Sunday Times newspaper. He has been awarded damages of €84,000. The jury took just under three hours to reach their verdict. The jury found that the article written by gossip columnist Terry Keane had implied that John Waters was a bad father who would withhold sympathy from his daughter.
A delighted Mr Waters emerged from the High Court feeling vindicated by the jury's verdict. Mr Waters thanked the jury for returning him to the state he was in before the "appalling attack" on him in the Sunday Times.
The road to the High Court began at the Abbey Theatre in June 2000 when Mr Waters delivered a pre-theatre speech on the themes in the Greek tragedy Medea. Ms Keane described him as "Ireland's foremost masculinist" and said he had launched a gender-based assault. She said that her sympathy went to his daughter Roisin who "would be truly goosed if she suffered any affliction of womanhood".
Mr Waters said she had taken his comments at the Abbey out of context, excluding a key line from his script. He successfully sued, winning damages of €84,000 from a jury of six women and five men. He had claimed Ms Keane's words meant he was a bad father lacking in sympathy. The jury agreed with him.
The Sunday Times said it did not regret fighting the case. The newspaper's Irish Editor said she was disappointed the case had become clouded by personality issues. Fiona McHugh said the case had concerned the fundamental right of journalists to comment robustly on matters of public interest. The paper is considering an appeal.
