John Waters, the retired journalist, expressed that he finds himself on the brink of “destruction” as a consequence of a libel lawsuit filed against him by Kitty Holland. Speaking for the second time in the Dublin Circuit Civil Court, Mr Waters described it as deeply unusual that one journalist should level a claim against another, especially when it pertains to opinion sharing on a significant national matter. The stress from the situation has led to a series of illnesses, he added.
The lawsuit brought forward against Mr Waters from Sandycove, Dublin, by Ms Holland from Ranelagh, Dublin is an outcome of comments he made at a 2017 Renua Ireland conference in Tullamore, Co Offaly that was attended by approximately 80 individuals. The conference was recorded and the video uploaded to Facebook by those responsible for the event.
In his address, Mr. Waters made remarks about Savita Halappanavar’s demise at University Hospital Galway in 2012, asserting that no reputable medical professional could cite a case where a maternal death was due to failure to carry out an abortion. He said, “The closest they have is Savita Halappanavar’s case, which we already know is a fabrication, a lie leading to numerous awards from peers for the journalist who commenced it.”
Ms Holland maintains that Mr Waters’ commentary was a clear implication to her and designated her as dishonest and unfit for journalistic work.
Counteracting these allegations, with guidance from his lawyer, Feargal Kavanagh SC, Mr Waters stated he did not slander Ms Holland nor label her dishonest. Instead, he suggested she had originated the “lie”. He asserted that he harbors no personal vendetta against Ms Holland. He acknowledged that he held no grievances against her, actually finding her agreeable, and he believed she was poorly guided by her editors when working on the report.
In Mr Waters’ words, the staff attending to Ms Halappanavar were not blindly praying while she was on her death bed, as the article insinuated. While answering to Andrew Walker SC, representing Ms Holland, Mr Waters argued that the 2012 report set off a chain of inaccurate global reporting, portraying a distorted image of Ireland and the healthcare professionals providing care to Ms Halappanavar.
While the investigations’ conclusions and advice appeared to back up the report, Mr Waters did not concur with this. He said it was difficult for him to comprehend a journalist suing another journalist based on differing opinions. Mr Walker questioned if the speaker had not pursued multiple defamation cases.
Mr Waters admitted that he had indeed pursued a dozen defamation lawsuits, but clarified that he had never directly sued another journalist. Of these lawsuits, nine were aimed at shielding his daughter’s privacy. One of the remaining three Suitcases included suing a newspaper, another came about following remarks made on RTÉ, and the final one implicated another newspaper.
With the conclusion of the evidence presentation, the teams of lawyers are set to give their final arguments on Wednesday. Judge John O’Connor announced that his verdict would be kept on hold and expected to be published roughly two months later.