Home About MLI Coverage & Visibility Firm Rankings Research & Methodology e-Zine

Guide to the Global Leaders in Media Law Practice

REGIONS WE COVER

Middle East and North Africa

North America

Asia-Pacific

Western Europe

Central and Eastern Europe

Irish media law is entering a new chapter, shaped by high-profile defamation judgments and the Defamation (Amendment) Act 2026 (2026 Act).

The 2026 Act introduces the most significant reforms since the Defamation Act 2009. Key changes include the abolition of juries in defamation proceedings, the introduction of a "serious harm" threshold for claims brought by bodies corporate (requiring proof of serious financial loss) and new defences including: (1) a consolidated statutory defence of fair publication on a matter of public interest; (2) a qualified privilege extension covering transient retail defamation; (3) a "live broadcast defence" for innocent publication; (4) an expanded territorial scope for absolute privilege; and (5) anti-SLAPP provisions.

The 2026 Act grants the Circuit Court jurisdiction to make "identification orders" compelling intermediary service providers to disclose information about anonymous publishers of allegedly defamatory material and mandates that clients be informed of alternative dispute resolution options before proceedings issue.

The Government has also published the General Scheme of the Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation Bill (the "SLAPPs Bill"), which will extend anti-SLAPP protections to civil and commercial proceedings beyond defamation, implementing the Anti-SLAPP Directive (EU) 2024/1069 and providing safeguards against manifestly unfounded claims designed to silence public participation.

Interesting judgments in Ireland delivered in 2025 include:

Bird v Iconic Newspapers [2025] IESC 30: The Supreme Court confirmed qualified privilege under section 18(2) of the Defamation Act 2009 does not apply to general media publications directed at the "world at large".

Adams v BBC, Record No. 2017/4816P (30 May 2025): A High Court jury awarded €100,000 in damages, renewing criticism of Section 26 which has never successfully been invoked in Ireland and is regarded as overly complex. The 2026 Act has subsequently addressed this.

The European Media Freedom Act ("EMFA") entered into force on 8 August 2025, aiming to protect media pluralism, editorial independence and transparency in media ownership across the EU. In Ireland, S.I. No. 22/2025 designated Coimisiún na Meán as the National Regulatory Authority under the EMFA, and the Media Regulation Bill 2026, currently before Dáil Éireann, proposes further significant changes.

Written by

Audrey Byrne & Bébhinn Bollard

McCann FitzGerald