Courts

Gemma O’Doherty contempt case adjourned as mother of man who died by suicide seeks measures against her

Edel Campbell suing Ms O’Doherty over use of son’s image in publication linking unexplained deaths to Covid-19 vaccination

Gemma O'Doherty at a previous hearing at the High Court last year. She was not in attendance for Monday's hearing. Photograph: Collins Courts

Aodhan O'Faolain
Mon Jan 22 2024 - 17:25

An application to have Gemma O’Doherty brought before the High Court to answer her alleged refusal to obey a court order not to harass the mother of a young man who died by suicide has been put back to a date in February.

Lawyers acting for Edel Campbell, who is suing Ms O’Doherty over the use of her son’s image on a publication run by the defendant, have brought a motion seeking Ms O’Doherty’s attachment and possible committal to prison for the alleged contempt.

Ms O’Doherty was not in court when the application was due to be heard on Monday.

Mr Justice Mark Sanfey was told that her solicitors, Brendan Moloney & Company Solicitors, are no longer in a position to act for her and now want to formally “come off record” and cease representing Ms O’Doherty in the proceedings.

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The court heard Ms O’Doherty was aware of the application but is currently out of the jurisdiction.

When the court was informed of Ms O’Doherty’s solicitor’s application Mr Justice Sanfey, who said that the application before the court is a serious matter, said he was adjourning the hearing of the contempt claim until February 12th next.

Represented by David Kennedy SC, with Paul Comiskey O’Keeffe BL, instructed by solicitor Ciaran Mulholland, Ms Campbell has previously obtained various orders from the court against Ms O’Doherty.

These include injunctions, granted last June, restraining Ms O’Doherty from harassing or intimidating her, and from disclosing any confidential information about Mrs Campbell and her family.

The orders further require Ms O’Doherty to remove images of Mrs Campbell’s late son Diego from any media platforms under the defendant’s control, or from publishing any images of herself and her family on any medium.

It is claimed that in a series of video posts by Ms O’Doherty on dates in June, July, August and September of last year the defendant has made statements in clear disregarding and in breach of the court’s orders.

Mrs Campbell’s lawyers have brought a motion for Ms O’Doherty’s attachment, meaning that she should be brought before the court to answer the allegations she is not complying with the court’s orders and her possible committal to prison for alleged contempt.

The court had previously heard that Ms O’Doherty denies any wrongdoing, and intends to fully contest all the allegations against her.

Ms Campbell sought the orders as part of proceedings she has commenced against Ms O’Doherty over the alleged unauthorised publication of the image of plaintiff’s late son.

She claims that Ms O’Doherty has wrongly and unlawfully used the image of the plaintiff’s son Diego Gilsenan in an article on media controlled by Ms O’Doherty linking unexplained deaths to the Covid-19 vaccination. Ms Campbell secured an injunction restraining Ms O’Doherty from harassing the plaintiff, or from publishing Ms Campbell’s and her late son’s images or any personal confidential material about them.

Ms O’Doherty is also restrained from encouraging or inciting others to intimidate the plaintiff.

The court also ordered Ms O’Doherty to take down and remove any image of the plaintiff and her late son from any form of media that she owns or operates.

The injunction is to remain in place pending the final outcome of Ms Campbell’s action against Ms O’Doherty, trading as ‘The Irish Light’.

The plaintiff claims that Ms O’Doherty is a journalist and the publisher of The Irish Light, a free periodical newspaper, and the publisher/editor of the irishlightpaper.com website.

Following Mr Gilsenan’s death in August 2021 it is claimed that Ms O’Doherty used the image of the plaintiff’s son in an article which it is claimed wrongly stated that he died as a result of the administration of the Covid-19 vaccination. Ms Campbell, from Kingscourt, Co Cavan, claims that despite making several pleas to Ms O’Doherty to cease using her son’s image, the defendant refused to do so.

It is claimed that the picture was taken from RIP.ie and used without consent.

Ms Campbell further claims that the unauthorised and repeated use of her son’s image amounts to harassment and a breach of her constitutional rights

She claims that it has caused her emotional pain, suffering and harm.

Ms O’Doherty rejects all of the allegations of wrongdoing made against her.

In addition Ms Campbell obtained various disclosure orders from X and Ms O’Doherty in relation to three of the social media’s accounts ‘@irishlightpaper’, ‘@cavandrugwatch’ and ‘@michaelmg3′.

The courts previously heard that Ms O’Doherty accepts that she is the person in charge of the ‘@irishlightpaper’ X account but claims she has nothing to do with and has no control over the two other accounts.

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