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BreakingNews.ie
16 minutes ago
- General
- BreakingNews.ie
Gerry Adams awarded €100,000 in damages after winning defamation case against BBC
The BBC defamed Gerry Adams by publishing a claim that he sanctioned the murder of a British agent, a High Court jury has found, awarding the former Sinn Féin leader €100,000. Mr Adams had claimed that the 2016 Spotlight programme and related article defamed him by falsely accusing him of giving 'the final say' in the Provisional IRA's murder of MI5 informant Denis Donaldson at a cottage in Glenties, Co Donegal in 2006. Advertisement Mr Adams described the allegation during the trial as a 'grievous smear'. The BBC had denied defaming Mr Adams. The jury agreed, as Mr Adams pleaded, that words published in the programme and article were understood to mean he sanctioned and approved the murder. The broadcaster argued the claim against Mr Adams was couched as an allegation. The jury rejected the BBC's defence in the case – the broadcaster had argued the publication of the allegation was fair and reasonable, and in the public interest. The jury decided Mr Adams should be awarded €100,000 to vindicate and restore his reputation following the defamation. The verdict came on Friday, the 21st day of the case, which opened on April 29th. They spent about seven hours deliberating.
BreakingNews.ie
16 minutes ago
- Entertainment
- BreakingNews.ie
Conor Maynard speaks on paternity drama and ‘really difficult' past year
Singer Conor Maynard has spoken about his paternity drama with The Traitors star Charlotte Chilton and said the last year has been 'really difficult'. Chilton publicly claimed last year that the R U Crazy singer is the father to her daughter Penelope, who was born in October 2024. Advertisement In March this year, the music artist, 32, said in a social media post that he had taken a paternity test and that the results 'confirm that I am not Penelope's father'. Maynard, who had maintained his silence prior to the social media post in March, told ITV's This Morning: 'One of the main reasons I felt like right now was the right time to speak about it was because … the last year has been really difficult, and mental health is something that I've struggled with for a big portion of my life. 'Obviously, this most recent year has been definitely up there, in terms of my experience and my battle with it, and I've never really shied away from that in the sense, you know, my fans who follow me online and on social media, I've spoken about it openly before. 'Today I've released a brand new song, which goes quite deeply into my battle with anxiety and obviously there have been a lot of things that have happened, and there's a lot of things that have contributed to why things have been so difficult.' Advertisement He continued: 'What was probably one of the most difficult aspects of the entire situation was it was so kind of shocking to me how it seemed like there was such a failure from the public, and also sometimes even from the press, to require proof before condemning me for something that, obviously, ultimately ended up being false and being not true.' He added: 'It was just very difficult to kind of understand that this was all happening without anyone really knowing the true story, or anyone really knowing whether or not it was completely true. 'I think what was difficult for me was, instinctively, you want to defend yourself, you want to be able to speak your side, but I didn't know what was true and what was not.' Asked if he been told about about Chilton's pregnancy before the media storm, he said: 'I was aware of the situation before, however I had no idea that it was going to go to the press. Advertisement 'I didn't know any of that was going to happen. In my mind, it was like, well, obviously the natural proceeding would be to get a test to basically make sure that everything is 100% certain, and then obviously we deal with it accordingly. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Conor Maynard (@conormaynard) 'Obviously, that's not the way it went. And I think it was difficult to remain silent.' He added: 'I instantly was painted as a deadbeat dad and … all of my comments across all of my social media was very much all about that. 'As I said, instinctively you want to defend yourself … but I also felt like it wasn't right to speak on it until I knew the truth myself, and I didn't want to force that, I obviously researched paternity tests and that kind of thing, and I know that it can be considered dangerous for a child that isn't born yet, and also when they're very early in life. Advertisement 'I was kind of just waiting and allowing that decision to come from the other side.' Maynard confirmed the two had initially met at a party with her other Traitors contestants. Chilton told the It Can't Just Be Me podcast in October 2024 that they met at Raffles hotel in London for a Traitors after-party organised by winner Harry Clark, whose girlfriend, Anna, is the sister of Maynard. Chilton has been approached for comment. Advertisement
BreakingNews.ie
27 minutes ago
- General
- BreakingNews.ie
Jason Hennessy Jnr jailed after confronting armed gardaí and string of aggressive interactions
The son of fatal shooting victim Jason "Jay" Hennessy Snr has been jailed for a string of violent crimes, including an aggressive confrontation with armed gardaí during a tense search of his Dublin home. Jason Hennessy Jnr, 28, pleaded guilty before Judge Catherine Hayden, who imposed sentences totalling six months and a two-year road ban. Advertisement His father was murdered in a gun attack at a steakhouse on Christmas Eve, 2023, in Blanchardstown. Hennessy, of Sheephill Avenue, Blanchardstown, faced 15 charges: violent disorder, dangerous driving, obstructing drug search, and having a passenger with no seatbelt from 2019 to 2022 in the Blanchardstown area. At Blanchardstown District Court, Garda Sergeant Ian Abbey outlined the facts on behalf of nine prosecuting gardaí who had had various interactions with the father of four, resulting in criminal charges. The court heard that on May 18th, 2019, gardaí conducted a search operation at his home and brought the armed support unit (ASU). Advertisement Jason Jnr had to be restrained by members of the ASU, resisted the search of the property, and when one officer entered, he stood up in an extremely aggressive stance. He shouted abuse and told an officer to "Fuck off". The accused told the officer, "You won't be searching this house," but he stood and "squared up" to the garda, entering his personal space and placing his head close to him. Detective Garda Megan Furey had dealings with him twice on June 23rd, 2019. The first occurred at Blanchardstown Courthouse, where Hennessy called her a "fucking tramp" and was arrested under the Public Order Act. At 8.19pm that night, as she and colleagues engaged in a "covert operation", she observed him driving after another car on the Blakestown road, where he sped "straight through a red light". Advertisement There were male occupants in his car, and armed colleagues were alerted due to the nature of the operation, targeting criminal activity in the area. The vehicle turned back in her direction, travelled towards her at speed, and went back through the junction of Blakestown Road and Blakestown Way "at high speed on the wrong side of the road". On April 3rd, 2020, he drove a car with a young child in the back with no seatbelt. The court heard that on June 22nd, 2020, at 1am in the cell area of Blanchardstown Garda station, the gaoler did a routine check in cell number 3 to check on the prisoner. Advertisement Hennessy told the garda, "You are a blond muppet, turn off the light." He threw water from the toilet, saying, "Do you want water? You will have to drag me out". He then began throwing litter from his meal that day. He had to be removed, as he became very aggressive, acting violently to gardaí, and the cell had to be cleaned. Gardaí spotted him on May 8th, 2020, with a group where one of them was "acting suspiciously" outside the Laurel Lodge shopping centre. The garda retrieved a mobile phone from Hennessy and held it when it received a notification. Hennessy then "became aggressive and threw the mobile phone on the ground, causing it to break. He became violent and had to be restrained and was arrested for obstruction." Advertisement The court heard on February 15th, 2020, he was caught parking on a footpath and, on January 23rd, 2020, driving at 93 km/h in a 60 km/h zone. He became aggressive and verbally abused a garda on routine patrol on February 5th, 2022, at Corduff Shops, taunting, "You will do well in prison, you little faggot', and making hand gestures where there were young children present at the time. The court heard he was arrested on July 19th, 2019, at Aldi Mulhuddart Village, Dublin 15, where the defendant engaged in threatening and abusive language toward gardaí. Pleading for leniency, defence solicitor Tertius Van Eeden told the court his client had young children and was in a long-term relationship, was doing well, "working out and keeping his head down." The solicitor added that his client was "in a good place mentally now given the fact his father was brutally murdered in a shooting in a Christmas Eve shooting in 2023". He had 15 prior convictions for public order offences, hit and run, and also an assault causing harm and violent disorder incident, which resulted in a suspended three- year sentence. Ireland Senior Kinahan gang member Sean McGovern charged w... Read More He spoke briefly only to confirm a procedural aspect the case and was not required to give evidence. Judge Hayden noted the offences went back several years and took into account his guilty pleas, which saved the court from having to run several hearings. Earlier this week at Dublin District Court, Judge Anthony Halpin ordered the destruction of four XL Bully pit bulls owned by Hennessy's mother, Veronica Maher, 54, after one escaped the family home and terrorised gardaí who feared for their lives. There has been a two-week stay on the order to destroy Oddie, Reggie, their mother, Medusa, and the fourth dog, Joe, pending a possible appeal.
BreakingNews.ie
41 minutes ago
- Business
- BreakingNews.ie
First-time buyers lead the way for mortgage approvals in April
First-time buyers continue to lead the way for mortgage approvals in April, with the overall value of approvals supported by ongoing increases in the average value of approvals and increases in re-mortgaging levels. The trends in approvals are broadly in line with Q1 and are unlikely to impact our mortgage forecasts, according to Davy. Advertisement The Banking & Payments Federation Ireland's (BPFI) April mortgage approvals of €1.5 billion are ahead by 14 per cent by value and 4 per cent by number versus April 2024, with the timing of Easter (April 2025 versus March 2024) likely having some impact on April 2025 activity levels. First-time buyers (€965 million) again lead growth with a 12 per cent increase in value (3 per cent by number), with a large increase in re-mortgaging (€151 million), albeit off a low base. Second and subsequent buyers remains more muted with a 1 per cent increase in value and 6 per cent decline in numbers of approvals. Average mortgage approvals continue to increase with an 8 per cent increase in first-time buyers to €330,123 and a 7 per cent increase in second and subsequent buyers to €374,823. On a year-to-date basis, the overall value of approvals has increased by 16 per cent, with a 13 per cent increase in first-time buyers and 9 per cent increase in second and subsequent buyers. Advertisement Second and subsequent buyers are more impacted by the health of the existing homes market where supply remains at very low levels. Nonetheless, the trends in April are broadly in line with Q1 and point to increases in activity in the mortgage market. As a result, we maintain our mortgage forecasts with an overall mortgage drawdown of €14 billion (2024: €12.6 billion) and growth of 3 per cent in the stock of mortgage balances.
BreakingNews.ie
42 minutes ago
- Entertainment
- BreakingNews.ie
Comedian and actor Russell Brand pleads not guilty to rape and sexual assault
Comedian and actor Russell Brand has pleaded not guilty to charges of rape and sexual assault. The 49-year-old appeared in the dock at Southwark Crown Court on Friday flanked by two officers, where he stood stock-still and looked straight ahead as he delivered his pleas. Advertisement He is accused of raping a woman in a hotel room while she attended a Labour Party conference, and grabbing a TV worker's breasts and orally raping her after dragging her into a male toilet. Brand is also alleged to have grabbed a radio station worker's face, pushing her against a wall and kissing her before groping her breasts and buttocks. Russell Brand arriving at Southwark Crown Court on Friday (Yui Mok/PA) The final charge alleges the actor indecently assaulted another woman after grabbing her forearm and attempting to drag her into a male toilet. The allegations against Brand are said to have taken place against four women between 1999 and 2005. Advertisement The defendant, of Hambleden, Buckinghamshire, who faces one count each of rape, indecent assault and oral rape, as well as two counts of sexual assault, is due to stand trial on June 3 next year at the same court. As Friday's hearing finished, the comedian replaced his sunglasses before exiting the dock and calmly walked past reporters. He was charged following an investigation by Channel 4 and the Sunday Times in which several women made allegations against him. Brand previously told his 11.2 million followers on X that he welcomed the opportunity to prove his innocence. Advertisement
