A libel action brought by former Cork hurler Mr Noel Looney against the Bank of Ireland has been discontinued in the High Court by agreement between the parties. Mr Looney, of Glanmire, had claimed he and the Irish Family Farm Therapy Group (of which he is the Cork chairman) had been defamed in a memo sent by the bank's press officer, Mr David Holden, to senior bank officials. The memo dealt with the contents of a Late Late Show television programme three years ago where Mr Looney among others spoke to Gay Byrne about customers in debt to the bank.
In court yesterday, Mr Michael McDowell SC, for the bank, read a statement in which the bank accepted Mr Looney was genuinely motivated and said Mr Holden's memo was not intended to reflect on his integrity. The statement added that Mr Looney accepted Mr Holden was not actuated by malice in writing the memo. The parties agreed to discontinue the proceedings.