In London yesterday historian and political commentator Dr Ruth Dudley Edwards received an apology and £25,000 compensation because of allegations in Mr Tim Pat Coogan's new book.
The book, Wherever Green is Worn: The Story of the Irish Diaspora, said she "grovelled to and hypocritically ingratiated herself with the English establishment". Mr Coogan also wrote that she caused the collapse of the British Association for Irish Studies (BAIS) by unprofessional behaviour as its chairwoman.
At a High Court hearing, publishers Random House UK apologised and agreed to pay compensation. Ms Rose Alexander, solicitor for Dr Edwards, said her client "was horrified by these damaging allegations, which go to the heart of her reputation and credibility as a historian and writer".
She told Mr Justice Eady the book suggested Dr Edwards was "unable to divorce her political views from her work as chairwoman of BAIS" - a non-political organisation set up to promote the understanding of Irish history and culture - and that this led to financial instability and eventual collapse.
It was also wrongly alleged that Dr Edwards had been commissioned by the BBC to write a book - "True Brits, an insight into the working of the British Foreign Office" - out of political favouritism rather than her ability or impartiality.
Ms Alexander said the publishers and the author had behaved responsibly by accepting promptly that the allegations were false.
Random House agreed to remove all defamatory references to Dr Edwards from future editions of the book and to correct the errors in current copies by inserting erratum slips and distributing them to libraries.