Defamation Solicitors Ireland
Defamation, online reputation and privacy — for individuals and small businesses defamed online and offline, and for people who have received a defamation letter or claim.
Richard O’Shea, Solicitor & Law Society Accredited Mediator — Mary Molloy Solicitors, established 1981. Dublin & Kilkenny. Clients nationwide.
Defamation Problems We Solve
Most Irish defamation pages were written for the old law and for the newspaper case. We give each scenario its own page under the law as it stands since 1 March 2026 — because the Facebook group, the fake review, the shop accusation and the job reference are different claims with different first moves.
Defamation of Character
Suing for defamation in Ireland: the one tort, the defences, the Circuit Court and High Court routes, the ADR step and the one-year limit.
Online & Social Media Defamation
Posts, comments, groups and shares: preserving the evidence, the platform notice, the solicitor’s letter, identification orders and court.
Fake & Defamatory Reviews
Google, Trustpilot and the rest: honest opinion versus false fact, platform removal, the letter, and unmasking the anonymous reviewer.
Defamation of a Business
The new serious harm test for companies, sole traders who are spared it, evidence of financial loss, and injurious falsehood distinguished.
Falsely Accused of Shoplifting
The 2026 retail inquiry privilege, what still succeeds against a shop, and the CCTV and witness evidence that decides it.
Defamation at Work & References
Qualified privilege and malice, the defamatory reference, and the disciplinary allegation repeated outside the process.
Identifying Anonymous Posters
Section 45 identification orders in the Circuit Court replace the High Court Norwich Pharmacal application - and the platforms are in Dublin.
Getting Content Removed
The ladder from platform report to DSA notice, Coimisiún na Meán, the solicitor’s letter and the section 28 and 33 orders.
Accused of Defamation
Received a solicitor’s letter? The first reply, the offer of amends, truth and honest opinion, and when to settle.
Online Harassment & Privacy
Coco’s Law, harassment, intimate images and breach of privacy: the Garda route alongside the civil claim, and the data protection angle.
Defamed by the Media
Newspapers and broadcasters: the Press Council and right of reply step, fair and reasonable publication, and the pre-publication response.
Urgent Relief & Injunctions
Section 33 prohibition orders, the high bar for restraining publication before trial, and relief against repetition after judgment.
One Year From First Publication
Defamation has the shortest limitation period in Irish civil law: one year from the date of first publication under section 38 of the Defamation Act 2009, extendable to a maximum of two years only where the interests of justice require it, which the courts apply strictly. Because there is one cause of action for every publication of the same statement, the post that is still online eleven months later does not restart the clock. The Defamation (Amendment) Act 2026, commenced on 1 March 2026, changed the rest of the landscape: juries are gone from new High Court actions, companies must show serious harm, shops have a new privilege for honest inquiries, the Circuit Court can order platforms to identify anonymous authors, and every solicitor must advise on Press Council or right-of-reply options before issuing. The second rule is the same as in every dispute practice we run: claims are won on evidence and lost on delay — the screenshot with the URL and the date, the record of who saw it, and the letter sent before positions harden.
Mary Molloy Solicitors advise on defamation, harassment and privacy law. We do not provide public relations or reputation management services, and nothing on this page is advice on either. The limitation period in defamation is one year from first publication and is strictly applied. The Defamation (Amendment) Act 2026 changed the law from 1 March 2026 and some of its provisions are not yet commenced; confirm the current position before acting on anything here.
Start with the Defamation Claim Checker to see whether the elements of a claim are present, then check your own dates on the Time Limit Calculator.
Since 1 March 2026, a Judge Alone Decides Every New High Court Defamation Action
And the High Court is not where most of the work is: in 2024 the Circuit Court heard 228 defamation cases to the High Court’s 61. The volume claim in Ireland is the sub-€75,000 claim — social media, reviews, shop accusations and the workplace — where the Circuit Court can now declare a statement false, order a correction, and order a platform to name the author. Whether you have been defamed or you have just received a solicitor’s letter, start here.
Defamation Solicitors By County
Defamation claims run on screenshots, phone, Zoom and email — we act for clients in every county.
Defamation - Frequently Asked Questions
Defamed — or Accused of It?
One consultation establishes your legal position, the evidence that decides it, the realistic routes and the deadlines you are on.
Call 01 5827148