The High Court is today hearing an application by Dublin criminal Martin 'The Viper' Foley to stop the Sunday Worldnewspaper from publishing articles that allegedly endanger his life.
At a hearing last month, Foley's lawyers described a four-page article published in the Sunday Worldon December 5th last - which featured the heading "Foley's a Dead Man Walking" - as "among the most profoundly irresponsible journalism and editorship of a widely circulating national newspaper that I could conceive of".
The article was published as part of extracts from crime journalist Paul Williams's forthcoming new book, and it led Foley to initiate proceedings aimed at preventing publiction of any similar articles.
Mr Michael O'Higgins SC, for Foley, said he would also be seeking declaration that the Sunday Worldarticle breached his client's right to life under the Constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights, exposed him to the threat of violence and infringed his right to privacy.
Mr O'Higgins said the article stated that reliable sources believed Mr Foley was protected by a senior member of An Garda Siochána and that he had avoided three major drug busts by leaving the scene minutes beforehand.
Mr O'Higgins said this was then followed by a quote from an anonymous garda detective who said: "I have always predicted that Foley will not die in his sleep."
He added that this exposed Mr Foley to danger from psychopaths in the criminal underworld who might believe he was a Garda informer. "That passage is something which is going to target Mr Foley," he said.
Mr O'Higgins said the article also contained the allegation that Foley had decided to pay drug money to Sinn Féin. He said this was likely to put his life at risk from the political enemies of the IRA and Sinn Fein, which would be embarrassed by the claims. "The republican movement has shown it has veering methods of dealing with embarrassment," he said.
The court heard that Foley was seeking the order to prevent any further article about him in the Sunday Worldbecause, as a convicted criminal, his chance of successfully taking a defamation case were slim.
Mr O'Higgins said every citizen had the right under the European Convention of Human Rights that articles which caused a real and substantial risk to their life would not be published. "It doesn't matter whether Mr Foley was the biggest blaggard or thug, that's not the issue."
In its replying affidavit the Sunday Worldsaid Foley had a long history of criminality which included 45 convictions in total. "The plaintiff is a notorious and self-professed crimelord and a major drug dealer referred to as the Viper," it said.
The court heard that Foley had served two years in jail for violently assaulting a garda and had recently been convicted of breaching the peace for threatening bar staff in a Dublin pub.
The affidavit stated that Foley was a person who orchestrates and deals in terror and violence and that any threat on his life is linked to his continuing involvement in crime rather than the article published in the Sunday World.
It said its reporter, Mr Williams, had been subjected to a campaign of intimidation which garda sources believed were being conducted by Mr Foley. A hoax bomb was planted under Mr Williams' car outside his home in November 2003 and he, his family and 150 neighbours had to be evacuated while the Army carried out a controlled explosion on the device. Mr Williams is now under 24-hour Garda protection.
Foley was not in court today. The case is to continue before Judge Peter Kelly in the High Court tomorrow.