Denis O'Brien

toffeeman · 23-11-2006 6:46pm #1

Won 750,000 euro in the High Court today against the mirror. A record by some distance. I think P DeRossa was the previous highest?

Very surprising that the Mirror let it go to court considering they accepted their story was a load of pants.

What do people think? Was O'Brien shortchanged?

The poor tax exile won't be able to buy more than 75 Aer Lingus shares with that.

mike65 · 23-11-2006 8:25pm

Heh!

Bumptious prat I think when I see his name, but he was wronged, that said given his wealth I trust he'll be donating it to the Santa Strike Force.

Mike.

Wishbone Ash · 23-11-2006 8:30pm

The Mirror have said that they will be appealing it.

DMC · 23-11-2006 8:41pm

Its a bit of a hit for the Mirror in this country. Circulation wise, it would be one of the smallest in this country, and 3/4 of a million euro is a huge amount.

Dundalk Daily · 23-11-2006 10:23pm

Yes there is an appeal by the Mirror but the judge ordered that 250k be paid right away.

flogen · 23-11-2006 11:57pm

It's interesting, given that the Supreme Court previously considered IR£250,000 to be excessive... I wonder if it's just the value of money has changed in Ireland, or are judges/juries getting less tolerant of newspapers that blatantly lie?

Dundalk Daily · 24-11-2006 10:33am

The Indo dont seem to happy about the award to OBrien.

OTK · 24-11-2006 12:51pm

Beware the ghosts of Archer and Aitken.

Denis OBrien, a man who obtains government concessions by winning essay competitions and claims it is a coincidence when it is shown that he has given cash to the political party and minister in charge of the process.

mountainyman · 24-11-2006 2:08pm

OTK wrote:

Beware the ghosts of Archer and Aitken.

Denis OBrien, a man who obtains government concessions by winning essay competitions and claims it is a coincidence when it is shown that he has given cash to the political party and minister in charge of the process.

Only a fool wouldn't give money to the political prty in charge of the process. It does give the lie to the claim that Fine Gale are more honest than Fianna Fail.

MM

IRE60 · 16-07-2016 3:06pm

I was going to start a new thread – buy ironically found this one. Some of the characters in the initial post from 2006 are still on stage in the many act play!

There is a fascinating article in the Irish Times today by Peter Murtagh. It’s more like a John le Carré novel. It across two pages and must have been a long time in the making.

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/denis-o-brien-the-dossier-and-the-spy-who-came-into-the-d%C3%A1il-1.2723907

I was discussing the ‘independence of media’ yesterday in this forum – heartening to see it’s alive and well.

In this tale I’ve been fascinated by the silence of one of the reluctant characters – The Sunday Times. Hollingsworth tried to disguise his real motivations for his lines of questioning by saying he was writing an article for the ST, which he wasn’t.

The same publication, IMO, has been quiet if not silent on the whole affair – maybe the Irish Times article will give them the impetus they need.

coylemj · 16-07-2016 11:57pm

IRE60 wrote: »

In this tale I’ve been fascinated by the silence of one of the reluctant characters – The Sunday Times. Hollingsworth tried to disguise his real motivations for his lines of questioning by saying he was writing an article for the ST, which he wasn’t.

The same publication, IMO, has been quiet if not silent on the whole affair – maybe the Irish Times article will give them the impetus they need.

Go back and read the article again. The ST said he was not working for them.

A chancer goes around claiming to be writing an article for the ST as a cover story for a fishing exercise - you can't expect newspapers to be issuing public denials every time their name is used. They were asked a direct question and gave a straight, unambiguous answer. There ends your conspiracy theory.

Background checking on Hollingsworth by Lyons, including a call to the Sunday Times in London who said Hollingsworth was not working for them, convinced Kehoe to keep his distance.

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/denis-o-brien-the-dossier-and-the-spy-who-came-into-the-d%C3%A1il-1.2723907

IRE60 · 17-07-2016 11:44am

Did I hit a nerve there coylemj!

IRE60 wrote: »

Hollingsworth tried to disguise his real motivations for his lines of questioning by saying he was writing an article for the ST, which he wasn’t.

Read my post - I'm fully aware he wasn't and stated that - read the post again.

The ST have been dragged into this whether they like it or not. In October last year they did have a few articles, but they faded out.

I don't have any "conspiracy theory" (fcuking laughable) and never tried to create one. I don't see the ST complicit in any way shape or form in this.

What I see here is some/many media outlets with sh1t running down the side of their legs at the mere mention of this case.

And granted, the papers can't be accountable every time their names are mentioned - but this is not a 'two aul ones went to the shops' type story.

coylemj · 17-07-2016 12:26pm

IRE60 wrote: »

Read my post - I'm fully aware he wasn't and stated that - read the post again.

I did read your post, I was referring to this statement of yours ....

IRE60 wrote: »

In this tale I’ve been fascinated by the silence of one of the reluctant characters – The Sunday Times.

They were not silent when someone asked them, they stated that Hollingsworth was not working for them. What did you expect them to do beyond that?

IRE60 · 29-09-2016 1:21pm

I Dobby going to sue D Trump for having amassed press clippings on him?!

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/us/trump-attacks-clinton-over-denis-o-brien-links-1.2809481

29-09-2016 1:25pm

IRE60 wrote: »

I Dobby going to sue D Trump for having amassed press clippings on him?!

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/us/trump-attacks-clinton-over-denis-o-brien-links-1.2809481

'No comment' from Dobby according to RTE news now earlier. Like any bully, Dobby will choose his fights carefully i reckon. Trump might come in useful to him at some stage and is probably a better ally than enemy

coylemj · 29-09-2016 5:30pm

Trump is trying to put it about that the Clinton foundation is corrupt so if he can find any of the donors with a whiff of scandal about them, that is fair game as far as he is concerned.

The Trump line goes something like this: DOB made his money through corrupt practices which means his money is contaminated, therefore any foundation he gives to must also be corrupt.

Hardly anyone in the US knows who DOB is, I can't see him losing any sleep over this. And it's virtually impossible to sue for slander/libel/defamation in the US on account of the 1st amendment. And what can he sue for - he gave money to the Clinton foundation which is true, everything else Trump said comes under the heading of opinion and commentary which some people might agree or disagree with but which would fall far short of the threshold for defamation under the rules which obtain in the US.

IRE60 · 29-09-2016 5:40pm

I very much doubt that an Irish Website/Journalist would get away with some of the comments in the article 'Follow the money' on the Trump website - the definition of defamation must be pretty loose.

Also, I'd say the commentary on this in the Irish media will be selective and subdued.

coylemj · 29-09-2016 5:57pm

IRE60 wrote: »

I very much doubt that an Irish Website/Journalist would get away with some of the comments in the article

Virtually all of the material on the Trump website is based on direct (and, in fairness, attributed) quotes from public news sources, including Irish Central which is run by Hillary's friend Niall O'Dowd. There's not much in the piece that would get you much in the way of an award for defamation, even in the Irish courts.

For Reals · 19-10-2016 2:37pm

Report calls on Irish government to tackle Denis O'Brien's media control
Now comes a report by four lawyers at two UK-based legal firms which raises similar concerns and calls on the Irish government to intervene.

In the report, “on the concentration of media ownership in Ireland”, the authors state: “we consider there to be a perfect storm which poses grave risks to freedom of expression and media pluralism in the Irish market”.
https://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2016/oct/18/report-calls-on-irish-government-to-tackle-denis-obriens-media-control

More of a suggestion I suppose.
Somehow I don't see the Fine Gael government taking it on board.

coylemj · 20-10-2016 7:41pm

Report calls on Irish government to tackle Denis O'Brien's media control
Now comes a report by four lawyers at two UK-based legal firms which raises similar concerns and calls on the Irish government to intervene.

For Reals wrote: »

More of a suggestion I suppose.
Somehow I don't see the Fine Gael government taking it on board.

I was puzzled as to why two sets of UK lawyers would write this type of a report, I found the answer later down that Guardian article.....

The authors were commissioned to compile a legal opinion by the Sinn Féin MEP Lynn Boylan on behalf of the European parliament’s left-wing grouping GUE/NGL

IRE60 · 21-10-2016 9:29am

coylemj wrote: »

I was puzzled as to why two sets of UK lawyers would write this type of a report, I found the answer later down that Guardian article.....

The authors were commissioned to compile a legal opinion by the Sinn Féin MEP Lynn Boylan on behalf of the European parliament’s left-wing grouping GUE/NGL

And that in some way discredits the article? Is it incorrect? Misleading? Is the Moriarty Tribunal report wrong? Comissioning an article on his media interests, especially on a man that tried to gag free speech in Dáil Éireann, I think is a liberating thing.

Your slight on the commissioning authors is a cheap shot, loved by apologists, and as they say in hurling - -play the ball, not the man.

coylemj · 21-10-2016 5:23pm

IRE60 wrote: »

And that in some way discredits the article?

Yes it does because if a particular political group or vested interest commissions a report, they get to choose who writes it and typically the result is a foregone conclusion. The more so in this case because if you look at the two firms of lawyers who got the job, their websites scream 'civil liberties' and 'human rights' so clearly they're people of the same ilk as the shinners and it's no surprise that they delivered what was expected of them.

I'm no great fan of DOB but let's not for a second think that this was an objective exercise, it was a hatchet job from start to finish and I notice that only the Guardian saw fit to give the report any significant coverage - 'nuf said.

IRE60 wrote: »

....play the ball, not the man.

Tell that to SF, bashing DOB is simply part of a proxy war against the Indo.

satguy · 21-10-2016 5:48pm

It sickens me to see that big waster getting a big ball of cash like that..

A lot of us still remember that mobile phone licence debacle. And how he sold it a short time later for €300 million, then said that he has moved to Portugal and is not going to pay tax.

coylemj · 22-10-2016 1:39pm

satguy wrote: »

It sickens me to see that big waster getting a big ball of cash like that..

A lot of us still remember that mobile phone licence debacle. And how he sold it a short time later for €300 million, then said that he has moved to Portugal and is not going to pay tax.

+1 I believe he now claims to live in Malta, even though he has a huge house on Raglan Road.

For Reals · 24-10-2016 4:35pm

It was hardly going to be O'Brien or his friends creating such a report. Should be judged on it's merit.

coylemj · 27-10-2016 12:04am

Denis isn't pleased with the report ...

In his statement, Mr O’Brien was scathing about the report and suggested it was written to promote Sinn Féin’s political agenda, which was hostile to him.

“An ‘independent study’ commissioned by a leading member of Sinn Féin? Hardly,” the statement observed.

http://www.irishtimes.com/business/media-and-marketing/denis-o-brien-claims-independent-news-media-was-days-from-closure-in-2011-1.2844495

IRE60 · 27-10-2016 6:04pm

Is the acquisition gig up for Dobby?

http://www.irishtimes.com/business/media-and-marketing/decision-on-acquisition-of-local-papers-by-inm-deferred-1.2844613

Denis Naughten looking for more info on the Celtic Media Deal.

expectationlost · 30-10-2016 9:16pm

coylemj wrote: »

Denis isn't pleased with the report ...

In his statement, Mr O’Brien was scathing about the report and suggested it was written to promote Sinn Féin’s political agenda, which was hostile to him.

“An ‘independent study’ commissioned by a leading member of Sinn Féin? Hardly,” the statement observed.

http://www.irishtimes.com/business/media-and-marketing/denis-o-brien-claims-independent-news-media-was-days-from-closure-in-2011-1.2844495

why do they say he is chairman of communicorp when he is not, http://www.doughtystreet.co.uk/documents/uploaded-documents/Report_on_the_Concentration_of_Media_Ownership_in_Ireland_by_DSC_and_KRW_LLP_Oct_2016.pdf

IRE60 · 13-12-2016 5:00pm

the end is high

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/courts/high-court/denis-o-brien-fails-to-get-orders-identifying-red-flag-s-client-for-dossier-1.2903825

Denis O'Brien

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