Peter Casey, a Donegal businessman and former presidential candidate has been awarded €140,000 in damages for defamation, arising from a social media post.
RTÉ reports that Acupuncturist, and former local and general election candidate Kim McMenamin made the post on Facebook in April 2023 to 2,000 followers.
It was in relation to a property in Ludden that Mr. Casey was to turn into accommodation for Ukrainian refugees, however that did not come to pass following a fire at the location.
Mr. Mc Menamin said in the post “moving unvetted people around like cattle and then warehousing them in office cubicles for profit is akin to human trafficking and inhumane” and encouraged other to share to post.
Peter Casey was ultimately awarded €120,000 for damages and an extra €20,000 in aggravated damages due to Mr McMenamin’s conduct.
