The libel case taken by Mr Ian Bailey against newspapers he claims linked him to the murder of Ms Sophie Toscan du Plantier should be dismissed because his evidence is "wholly and utterly unreliable", a court heard yesterday.
In his summing up on the ninth day of the case, Mr Paul Gallagher SC, for the newspapers, told Cork Circuit Court that his clients were justified on a in naming Mr Bailey as a murder suspect.
Mr Bailey is taking seven defamation actions against eight newspapers: the Irish Sun, the Irish Mirror, the Star, the Sunday Independent, the Independent on Sunday, The Times, The Sunday Timesand the Daily Telegraph.
Mr Gallagher said the case should be dismissed or struck out as up to 20 witnesses, including neighbours and former friends, had repeatedly contradicted Mr Bailey's evidence in court.
"We say the plaintiff's evidence is wholly and utterly unreliable and that he sought to mislead the court in many significant respects.
"Every witness called contradicted his evidence in many and crucial respects, including his own witness, Mr Cassidy [a journalist with The Examiner]."
The contradictions centred on a range of areas such as Mr Bailey's movements on the night of the murder; whether there was a fire in his partner's garden in the days after the murder; what details Mr Bailey knew of the murder on the morning it occurred; and claims that he confessed to the murder on at least two occasions, Mr Gallagher said.
However, the evidence of Ms Marie Farrell, who says she saw him around a mile from Ms Toscan du Plantier's house at Kealfadda bridge early on the morning of the murder, was compelling. Mr Gallagher argued.
He also referred to Mr Malachi Reed's testimony in which he said Mr Bailey told him he had murdered Ms Toscan du Plantier with the words: "I went up there with a rock and bashed her f**king brains in".
Addressing the issue of alleged damage to Mr Bailey's reputation, Mr Gallagher insisted the plaintiff's public standing had already been tarnished by his arrest in connection with the murder and public knowledge of his history of violence with his partner Ms Jules Thomas.
"A person has the right to a reputation, but no person has a right to come into this court and tell lie after lie after lie," Mr Gallagher said.
He said the details of the newspaper articles should be considered in full and not focus on isolated headlines or paragraphs.
He case law such as Albert Reynolds vs The Times, showed paragraphs or headlines could not be "cherrypicked."
Mr Gallagher said the newspapers could use the defence of justification in publishing the articles given that there was good reason to believe he was a suspect for the murder and that Mr Bailey was a violent man capable of murder.