Dismay as FG senator goes for retrial over ‘slur’
Paudie Coffey seeks another hearing of case related to boundary change row
SENIOR Fine Gael sources have reacted with ‘utter dismay’ to the revelation that Senator Paudie Coffey will re-run his libel action against the Kilkenny People.
Mr Coffey sued the paper over its publication of remarks by Junior Housing Minister John Paul Phelan, comparing Mr Coffey to an historical highwayman.
According to the Munster Express, Mr Coffey has revealed that the case is being relisted this month with a sitting expected later this year.
The senator justified his decision by saying: ‘I had a good name before I entered politics and I hope I’ll have a good name before I leave politics.’
Senior Fine Gael sources were appalled. One said: ‘If this fellow had an ounce of political intelligence, he would leave well enough alone.’
The source of the original case was a row over changes in county boundaries between Waterford and South Kilkenny where Mr Phelan colourfully claimed: ‘There was a “bloodthirsty” 18th-century highwayman in Waterford called “Crotty the Robber” and now “Cofafter fey the Robber” was trying to do the same thing.’
Senator Coffey claimed the article had been a major factor in the loss of his Dáil seat at the last election, held weeks after the item was published in the Kilkenny People.
After a 13-day High Court case, the jury failed to reach a verdict almost 11 hours of deliberation.
It’s understood legal costs incurred by each party have reached six figures, with a retrial certain to see those amounts rise.
The absence of a decision left both sides with a high-stakes ‘double or quits’ option where the losing party will be faced with paying the legal costs of two sets of High Court hearings.
As the costs clocked up by the trial just ended are likely to be in the region of €300,000 each, further proceedings have the potential to create total legal costs of up to €1m. A legal source said: ‘A key factor in Mr Coffey’s decision to roll the legal dice a second time is that he may be liable to some or all the Kilkenny People’s costs.’
His dilemma attracted scant sympathy among the Fine Gael hierarchy. One Fine Gael source said: ‘We are facing a debacle in two constituencies. Either he will bankrupt the local paper in Kilkenny, or he will make a fool of himself in Waterford.’
The absence of sympathy may have been fuelled by Mr Phelan’s status within Fine Gael as a key member of Taoiseach Leo Varadkar’s inner circle. Mr Phelan is believed to be less than impressed by the re-run after previously asking Mr Coffey to drop the case.
Though he is not being sued personally, Mr Phelan could, if Mr Coffey wins, also be liable for costs should the jury decide damages caused to Mr Coffey should be apportioned to Mr Phelan, thereby reducing any award of financial damages against the Kilkenny People.
A Fine Gael spokesman declined to comment beyond noting they had not been informed of Mr Coffey’s decision.
One senior Fine Gael source said of Mr Coffey: ‘What he does is a mystery to us and frankly we often think it’s a mystery to him too.’
They added: ‘If this case happens in the middle of an election it will be a disaster.’
During the trial, Mr Coffey recounted how ‘tough times’ his family had endured in the 1980s gave him the resilience to be strong in his political career.
He had entered politics back in 1990 as a county councillor. He lost the first general election he contested but was subsequently elected to the Seanad. He was finally elected to the Dáil in 2011 and later became a junior minister.
‘We’re facing a debacle in two constituencies’