Lawyers for Gemma O’Doherty have told the High Court she is the controller of one of three Twitter accounts alleged to have breached a court order not to harass the mother of a young man who died by suicide.
At the High Court on Tuesday Edel Campbell, who is suing Ms O’Doherty over the use of her son’s image on a publication run by the defendant, secured orders directing Twitter to disclose the identities and contact details of the operators, controllers and owners of the other two accounts also alleged to have breached the injunction.
Earlier this month Ms Campbell sought various disclosure orders from Twitter and Ms O’Doherty in relation to three of the social media’s accounts @irishlightpaper, @cavandrugwatch and @michaelmg3.
When the matter returned before the High Court Mr Justice Brian O’Moore was told by Gregory Murphy BL, for the defendant, that she accepts that she is the person in charge of the @irishlightpaper Twitter account.
Counsel said his client denies any wrongdoing and said she intends to fully contest all the allegations against her. However, she has nothing to do with, and no control over, the two other accounts, counsel said.
David Kennedy SC, with Paul Comiskey O’Keeffe BL, instructed by solicitor Ciaran Mulholland for the plaintiff, said that in correspondence Twitter had said that it would not oppose or consent to the orders being sought by his client.
In light of the correspondence from Twitter, Mr Justice O’Moore was satisfied to grant the disclosure orders sought in respect of @cavandrugwatch and @michaelmg3.
The orders will allow Ms Campbell’s team to determine who is behind those accounts. It will then be up to Ms Campbell if she wishes to bring a motion against those parties and the defendant for alleged contempt of court.
Previously the court heard that Ms Campbell claims she has been harassed by Ms O’Doherty because she has sued the defendant over the alleged unauthorised publication of the image of her late son.
She claims Ms O’Doherty wrongly and unlawfully used the image of her son, Diego Gilsenan, in an article she wrote and published linking a series of 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 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 Ms O’Doherty is a journalist and the publisher of The Irish Light – a free newspaper – and the publisher/editor of the www.irishlightpaper.com website.
Following Mr Gilsenan’s death in August 2021, it is claimed Ms O’Doherty used the image of the plaintiff’s son in an article which wrongly claims he died as a result of the administration of the Covid-19 vaccination. Ms Campbell, from Kingscourt, Co Cavan, said 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 the picture was taken from RIP.ie and used without consent.
Ms O’Doherty rejects all of the allegations of wrongdoing made against her.