Astrologer Fergus Gibson was awarded €12,000 in damages yesterday arising out of his claim that he was slandered at a public exhibition.
Mr Gibson said in the Circuit Civil Court yesterday that he had not silenced a €10,000 sound system by pouring a can of Coke over it and causing it to blow up.
Mr Gibson, of Bayside Walk, Sutton, Dublin, told his counsel, Gerry Danaher SC, that he had merely warned organisers of the Woman's World exhibition in the RDS that another exhibitor had threatened to pour Coke over the sound mix unit if the volume was not turned down.
He claimed the sales manager of the expo organisers, Marketing Project Management Ltd, afterwards slandered him by shouting publicly he had caused criminal damage to the unit through his act of vandalism.
Mr Danaher, who appeared with Niall J Fitzgibbon, told Judge Jacqueline Linnane that Mr Gibson had been resident astrologer on RTÉ's Live at Three television programme for 12 years until 1996 and currently had syndicated astrology columns in 19 newspapers in Ireland.
Mr Gibson, who was awarded damages against Marketing Project Management, said thousands of people knew him and many had queued to meet him at the May 2003 show and to have him do a reading for them.
He told Senan Allen SC, who appeared with Paul Fogarty for Marketing Project Management, that the music associated with a fashion show at the exhibition had been very loud and he had complained several times at the office of the organisers, who had promised to tone it down. He said that on the third day of the exhibition he told management office staff that another exhibitor had threatened to pour a bottle of Coca-Cola into the sound system if the volume was not reduced. Shortly afterwards it had happened and the system blew up in a loud explosion.
Mr Gibson said that later that day Denise O'Grady, sales manager for the exhibition, had caused a commotion at his stand, telling him someone had knocked out the sound system.
"She was really angry, loud and bullying, shouting abuse and accusing me," Mr Gibson said. "She was very excitable and had spoken in a loud and shrill voice." He said Ms O'Grady had said he had committed a crime by vandalising the sound system, which had cost €10,000. She had accused him of having caused criminal damage and had told him she was going to call the Garda and have him arrested.
"Everyone around could hear her," he told Mr Danaher. "She accused me of having poured a bottle of Coca-Cola into the system and said she had witnesses. I told her I certainly did not do it." Mr Gibson said he was humiliated and embarrassed and was so upset he had been unable to stay until the end of the exhibition.
Ms O'Grady said there had been no shouting or accusations. She had conducted a perfectly calm and normal interview with Mr Gibson about what he knew of the threat to pour liquid into the system and to identify who had made the threat.
Judge Linnane said she accepted Mr Gibson's account of what had taken place. Another psychic working nearby had given evidence of having to tell Ms O'Grady to keep quiet because he was unable to conduct his reading with a client.