Michelle O’Neill is to receive no award of damages for a former Democratic Unionist Party councillor saying she will be “put back in her kennel”, the High Court in Belfast ruled on Tuesday.
The Sinn Féin vice-president was denied any pay out in her libel action after a judge decided the social media posting by John Carson did not cause any harm to her reputation.
Master Bell held that the comments were abusive, highly offensive and misogynistic, but fell short of being defamatory.
“In my view no president or prime minister, nor any member of the public, will think of her reputation in reduced terms as a result of it,” he said.
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Ordering both sides to foot their own legal bills, he stressed that the decision should not be seen as a victory for the ex-DUP man who could now have his savings wiped out and lose his house.
The libel action centred on a Facebook posting Mr Carson made in April 2021 as he backed Edwin Poots’ candidacy for leadership of the unionist party.
In response to a photograph of Ms O’Neill, Stormont’s Deputy First Minister at the time, he wrote: “She will be put back in her kennel.”
He initially apologised online, but was suspended for three months by a local government standards watchdog who held the remarks were unreasonable and misogynistic.
Ms O’Neill obtained an initial judgment by default last December when no defence was entered to her defamation action.
At a further hearing to assess if any damages should be awarded, she said the posting had ridiculed and attacked her political abilities. She described the comments as an attempt to belittle her as a woman who would be “subservient” to his own party’s prospective new leader.
Mr Carson, who served as an Alderman on Mid and East Antrim Borough Council, did not give any oral evidence on medical grounds. However, he issued an unreserved apology for any hurt, distress or embarrassment caused by the posting.
‘Misogynistic abuse’
His barrister told the court that it had resulted in “political suicide” by ending his career as a DUP councillor.
In his ruling, Master Bell determined that the comments about Ms O’Neill had the meaning: “She is a bitch and we will get her under control.”
He stated: “This is classic misogynistic abuse and is also combined with that bravado and bombast often seen among football supporters, asserting that their team will beat the opponent.”
Describing the Sinn Féin leader as a politician on the national and international stage, the judge said by comparison the former councillor is a political nonentity.
“In their respective careers therefore, Ms O’Neill is a star in the political firmament at which Mr Carson can only gaze upon from his earthbound location,” he said.
But after citing a series of newspaper headlines about the posting, Master # concluded: Mr Carson’s post falls short of being defamatory.
“It has had no adverse impact on Ms O’Neill’s reputation, either in the local community or internationally.
“In the light of this conclusion I am obliged to rule that no award of damages is payable to Ms O’Neill in respect of it.”
The court heard that her legal costs amounted to £12,999, while Mr Carson’s were £12,697.
Minor case
Determining that both sides should foot their own bill, Master Bell indicated that it was a minor case which should never have reached the High Court.
“When the court’s time is taken up with cases involving disputes between politicians involving insults which one imagines are sometimes heard in school playgrounds or outside pubs on Saturday nights, then serious cases ... inevitably suffer delay,” he said.
The judge added: “I realise that the plaintiff, and perhaps many other women in Northern Ireland, will be disappointed with this decision because they want Mr Carson punished for his petty, misogynistic comment.
“But the inconvenient legal truth is this: this court does not have the function of punishing him.”
Despite his ruling, he emphasised that Mr Carson has still paid a heavy price for the “stupid and offensive” posting, including the loss of his political career and reputation and being left liable for his own legal expenses.
According to the information provided to the court, this more than exceeds all the savings he has and, if his solicitor and counsel pursue him for those costs, he is likely to lose his house,” Master Bell pointed out.
“Secondly, the remark has cost him the respect of many, if not all, of the women in Northern Ireland.”