An 80-year-old Waterford hotelier who sued the Sunday World newspaper for suggesting his guesthouse was a brothel, has been awarded €50,000 in damages by a jury at the High Court.
Vincent O'Toole, who owns the Maryland House at the Mall in Waterford, said he was not happy with the amount of damages but he was happy that he had been vindicated by the decision.
'Sure you'd put it on a horse,' he said of the amount.
In an article called a dictionary of Waterford slang, published on the 1 August, 2004, the Sunday World had written that 'Maryland' meant a small hotel in the red light district of Waterford and was a colloquial term for a brothel.
Mr O'Toole told the court he had been appalled when he was told about the article and he said men had started calling around to the guesthouse at night looking for prostitutes.
A chief superintendent from Waterford had given evidence that he was not aware of any red light district in the city.
The Sunday World claimed it was unaware there was a hotel called Maryland in Waterford.
Its lawyers told the jury the article was a spoof and a joke and if damages were going to be awarded, it should be a very small sum indeed.
