Man apologises for ‘personal attack’ against presenter Stephen Nolan

A man has issued a formal apology in court to BBC presenter Stephen Nolan over what he admitted were “dangerous” social media posts.

Eddie Barrett, with an address in Ballyard, Tralee, Co Kerry, admitted that he had published a “deluge of posts” on X, formerly Twitter, about Mr Nolan between February and April 2021.

He said he had accused the BBC radio and television presenter of “being involved in sectarianism” and of “inciting hatred and violence in Belfast”, together with “other outrageous allegations”.

The apology was read out on behalf of Mr Barrett by barrister Ger Hussey at the High Court in Dublin on Thursday.

In the signed statement, he said: “I fully accept my comments were completely misguided and reckless.

“I appreciate that, given the subject matter, they were dangerous and could have had serious ramifications for Mr Nolan.

“I acknowledge Mr Nolan’s accomplished position as an independent journalist and regret my very personal attack on him.”

He added: “I apologise unreservedly to Mr Nolan for any hurt caused or harm done to his good name.”

Mr Nolan, who was joint fifth in the list of BBC on-air presenters ranked by salary band last year, said he was continuing to “take a stand against the trolls who seek to undermine and smear journalists”.

The BBC Radio Ulster broadcaster added that trolls had sought to circulate “malicious lies” and engineer “social media pile-ons”.

In a statement issued through his lawyer Paul Tweed, Mr Nolan said: “These individuals set out to aggressively destroy and instil fear in people like me and then attempt to avoid responsibility when held to account.

“Not every journalist or citizen has the means to bring High Court proceedings.

“Accordingly, for those who have the ability to do so, we have a duty to stand tall against intimidation.

“My thanks to Paul Tweed, Marie Hans and the team at WP Tweed for their invaluable guidance and protection.”

After the apology was read out in court, Martin Heydon SC, for Mr Nolan, advised that there was no need for any orders or costs and the proceedings were struck out by Judge Alexander Owens.