Law Society apologises to a carpenter incorrectly identified as ‘certified insane’

The Law Society has apologised in the High Court to a carpenter over an article which incorrectly stated he had been certified insane.

The apology was read in court as part of James Bailey's settlement of his action for defamation over the publication of the article in the Law Society Gazette in November 2006.

Mr Bailey, Ardcanaught , Castlemaine, Co Kerry, had sued the society and the barrister Byron Wade, who wrote the article.

Yesterday, Mr Justice John Hedigan was told the case had been settled and an apology was read by Eoin McCullough on behalf of the society and Mr Wade.

The article in the Gazette referred to Circuit Court proceedings in 2005 in which Mr Bailey had taken a case in an effort to obtain access to his own medical records.

It was entitled: "The shrink, the chippy, his wife and her doctor" and, it was claimed, also contained sub headings of movie titles which concerned characters with various types of mental health illness such as One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

Mr Bailey claimed the entire article meant he had been certified a lunatic.

In the apology, the society said it reiterated the outcome of that Circuit Court case represented a “full vindication of Mr Bailey’s good name”.

It stated: “In the November 2006 article, it was stated Mr Bailey had been certified insane and was a certified lunatic with a conspiracy theory.

“For the avoidance of any doubt the Law Society and Byron Wade accept that Mr Bailey is of sound mind and has never been diagnosed or certified with any mental illness whatsoever.”

The apology continued: “Any impression to the contrary was incorrect and certainly not the intention of the Law Society or the intention of Byron Wade, the author of the article.”

Both Mr Wade and the Law Society and Mr Wade apologised for any embarrassment and or damage caused to Mr Bailey by either the article or the graphics accompanying it.