A Dublin criminal who has survived three attempts on his life has applied to the High Court for an injunction preventing the Sunday World newspaper from publishing any material that encourages any attempts to endanger his life.
The proceedings have been taken by Martin Foley following publication in the newspaper on December 5th last of an article spanning four pages, most of which concerned him.
Mr James MacGuill, solicitor for Foley, said his client denied all allegations made about him in the body of the lengthy article and added that one section of it, under the heading "Foley's A Dead Man Walking", caused him greatest concern. The page also contained a sub-heading stating: "Viper isn't trusted by other gang members", an apparent reference to Foley.
In an affidavit, Mr MacGuill said the article concluded with what could not be other than a prediction of Foley's demise by violent methods.
An unnamed retired detective was quoted as saying: "I have always predicted that Foley will not die in his sleep and have told him this on many occasions. The only thing that amazes me is that he has lived for so long."
Mr MacGuill said he was categorically instructed by Foley that an allegation in the article that he was a police informer was made without any foundation and was specifically denied.
In an affidavit opposing the application, Mr Colm McGinty, editor of the Sunday World, said the portion of the article in question was not an attempt to provoke a further attempt on Foley's life.
On the contrary, he said, the retired detective stated that Foley was a violent criminal and, given that his fellow criminals had already tried to kill him, if Foley continued to engage in criminality he was likely to be the subject of further violence and attempts on his life.
Any threat to Foley's life was wholly attributable to his continued involvement in crime and association with other members of the criminal class, Mr McGinty said.
Mr McGinty said the December 5th article was a serialisation of a forthcoming book, Crime Lords Update by Paul Williams, the newspaper's crime editor. Williams had written about Foley on numerous occasions.Mr McGinty added that he utterly rejected an allegation that the newspaper had published allegations about Foley which Williams or the newspaper knew to be untrue.
Foley was a notorious and self-professed crime lord and major drug dealer known as "the Viper", he said. The article of December 5th last focused on Foley's reaction to Williams' previous book, Crime Lords, published in August 2003.
That book contained a chapter devoted to Foley, which gave a detailed account of his criminal activities.
Mr McGinty said that when Foley learned of his inclusion in the first book, he embarked on a campaign of intimidation against Williams. That campaign included placing a hoax bomb explosive device beneath Williams' car in November 2003.
At the time, that incident attracted enormous publicity from all parts of the media.
Mr McGinty believed publication of the December 5th article and other articles concerning Foley's activities was in the public interest.
He said the public was entitled to know about persons such as Foley and his involvement in drug dealing, violence and crime. It was also entitled to know about the efforts of the authorities to deal with his activities.
The hearing, before Mr Justice Kelly, continues today.