Journalist comments imply Lowry is 'a thief', court hears
Former Minister Michael Lowry is in court claiming comments by journalist Sam Smyth wrongly imply he is a thief and a corrupt politician.
The Tipperary deputy said he has been defamed by the journalist in an article in the Independent newspaper on May 22 last and during a TV3 appearance on 'Tonight with Vincent Browne'.
Sam Smyth said on TV3 last June that the first time Michael Lowry was caught on video with his hand in the till was when he was Minister for Communications.
A month earlier the journalist wrote an article for the Irish Independent about how the "Moriarty Tribunal will reveal findings on the money trail to the ex-Minister".
The Independent TD claims he has been gravely defamed by the comments which imply wrongly and maliciously that he unlawfully benefited from property transactions following the awarding of the second mobile phone license to Esat in the 1990s.
Furthermore he said they imply he is a thief and a corrupt politician who is unfit to be a TD or Minister.
Sam Smyth said such inferences are "reasonable". He stands by his comments which he said are "true, reflect an honest opinion and represent fair and reasonable publication on a matter of public interest".
