Student in Facebook row over fare dodging video asks judge for press gag
Eoin McKeogh outside the High Court.
A STUDENT at DCU who claims he was falsely accused of being a taxi fare dodger in an online video is seeking an injunction to stop newspapers from identifying him.
Some lawyers claimed that Eoin McKeogh was attempting to seek a "super-injunction" such as those obtained by celebrities seeking to avoid publicity in the UK.
Earlier this week, Mr McKeogh obtained temporary injunctions against a number of internet parties including Facebook and Google, stopping them from showing the material, which he says defames him by falsely alleging he was guilty of taxi fare evasion.
Mr McKeogh (22), who is studying international business and Japanese at DCU, says he wasn't in the country at the time of the alleged incident.
Yesterday, in the High Court, Dublin, he applied for further orders prohibiting six national newspapers from identifying him. His application was against Independent Newspapers, the 'Irish Times', the 'Irish Examiner', the 'Star' and the 'Sunday Times'.
Mr Justice Michael Peart said he would hear Mr McKeogh's application today.
Pauline Walley, counsel for Mr McKeogh, said she was not seeking a super-injunction but was asking the newspapers not to publish his identity pending a ruling.
Simon McAleese, for Independent Newspapers and Shane English, for the 'Star' and 'Examiner', said they would not be giving such an undertaking. Rossa Fanning, for Facebook, said: "The genie or smoke was out of the bottle."
Andrew O'Rorke, solicitor for the Irish Times, said his client should no longer be in the case; while Gary Compton, for the 'Sunday Times', said a super-injunction was being sought against his client.
http://www.independent.ie/national-news ... 95087.html