A Dublin man, who was pictured in a national newspaper as a fatal victim of hypothermia, today settled, for an undisclosed sum, a €38,000 damages claim in the Circuit Civil Court.
HSE healthcare worker Joseph Dermody claimed he had been deeply embarrassed after the Irish Daily Star published his picture to illustrate articles published in January 2013 about John Glennon and Deborah McEvoy, who had died in an unheated apartment on Prussia Street, Dublin.
Mr Dermody, who lived in the area, claimed the picture, wrongly depicting him as being Mr Glennon, had been unlawfully obtained from a CCTV footage still of him in a shop in the neighbourhood.
He alleged that a number of friends and colleagues had been aware of the publication and had expressed either concern or amusement at the incident.
He had tried to stop discussions on the matter.
He claimed he was conscious of being the source of on-going comment regarding the publication, making him feel distressed and uncomfortable.
Mr Dermody, of Charleville Road, Phibsborough, Dublin, sued the newspaper for negligence and breach of privacy, including breach of Data Protection laws.
The newspaper, in a full defence, denied Dermody’s claim.
It alleged the article had been published in good faith as part of reporting on matters of grave concern to the public.
Barrister John Smith, counsel for Dermody, told Circuit Court President Mr Justice Raymond Groarke that following talks between the parties, the case had been settled and could be struck out with an order for Mr Dermody’s costs.