Navan former councillor Wayne Forde who was ordered to pay €50,000 damages to Sinn Fein Cllr Eddie Fennessy after a judge found that he defamed him has said he will appeal the award. The former councillor had falsely claimed in social media posts that Cllr Fennessy had threatened to arrange “a punishment beating of him by his Ira comrades and the petrol bombing of his home”. This was something, Judge Mary O’Malley Costello said, that was “at the highest level of defamation”. Cllr Fennessy, a sitting member of Meath County Council and three times Mayor of Navan, took an action against Wayne Forde at Trim Circuit Court. The case was heard over three hours at the Trim
court.
A barrister in the case referred to a recent case in which a prominent businessman was ordered to pay €823,500 to two solicitors who had sued him after his team suggested that a critical report by the solicitors was essentially a paid-for “Sinn Fein production”. Although the businessman wasn’t named in court it was taken that the reference was to businessman Denis O’Brien.
In other comments on social media, Mr Forde had falsely claimed that Cllr Fennessy had overstated his council salary by several thousand euros and claimed social welfare benefit. Mr Fennessy denied all these claims in the witness box. Besides making the order to direct Wayne Forde to pay €50,000 damages to Mr Fennessy, the judge also made an order restraining Mr Forde from defaming or disparaging Mr Fennessy in any way in the future.
Summing up, the judge said that Mr Forde was “somewhat of a fantasist” while Mr Fennessy was “an upstanding member of the public”.
Following the judgement Mr Forde has told reporter Patrick O’Connell of the Sunday World that he doesn’t have the money to pay the award. He expressed surprise at the judgement of the court. “I’m still in shock about it, I swear to God. I’ve never heard of a judgement like that. The severity of it. I don’t have that money. Of course I’m worried about it, absolutely”.
He said he had appealed the award but did not want to say anything further in case he might jeopardise the case. Mr Forde said he had very bad health as a result of a work accident when he was employed by the Hse. He aid that they had mentioned Denis O’Brien during the case. “They must think I’m Denis O’Brien. €50,000. I don’t have it.”
