THE Irish Mail on Sunday and Irish Daily Mail newspapers have apologised before the High Court to a Dublin businessman after wrongly referring to him as a convicted drug dealer in reports about the funeral of RTÉ broadcaster Gerry Ryan.
In a statement read by counsel in court yesterday, Associated Newspapers, publisher of the newspapers, unreservedly apologised to Aidan Cosgrave.
The statement said Mr Cosgrave was not a convicted drug dealer and had never dealt in drugs. The newspapers apologised for the injury to his reputation and for the distress caused to him.
Mr Cosgrave (55), of Londonbridge Road, Sandymount, Dublin, had sued Associated Newspapers (Ireland) Ltd after the reports were published on December 12th and 13th, 2010, about the funeral. They were published in the context of controversy surrounding the finding of the inquest into Mr Ryan’s death.
When the case was called before Mr Justice Eamon de Valera yesterday, he was told it had been resolved and could be struck out, and that an apology from Associated Newspapers was to be read to the court.