Irish people are noted for their banter and its fair to say that most of us have given (and taken) our fair share of abuse whether over a tea break or down in our local public house. Being a thick skinned bunch, we normally think nothing of it. Occasionally, however, something is said that is damaging either personally or professionally.

Defamation is the response of the law to two competing interests, namely, the right to free speech on one side and the right of a person to preserve their reputation from unjust attack on the other. To defame someone is essentially to injure that person’s good name.