Sinn Féin TD Chris Andrews has lodged defamation proceedings against The Irish Times and one of its journalists over an article on the party’s position on Palestine in the wake of the surprise Hamas attack on Israel.

The lawsuit was initiated following a piece on Sinn Féin’s response to the attack by the newspaper’s political correspondent Harry McGee, published on Saturday, October 15. The article quotes Andrews’ reaction on X (formerly Twitter) to President of the European Commission Ursula Von der Leyen’s tweet unequivocally condemning the actions of Hamas. The Dublin Bay South politician tweeted on October 8: “It seems that according to the EU and Ireland only Palestine has no right to defend itself against murder, torture and apartheid…”

The Currency was unable to reach Andrews or The Irish Times for comment on the nascent lawsuit or the newspaper’s proposed response to the writ which is against the publication and McGee personally. 

A summons was lodged with the High Court’s central office on Monday, November 6. Andrews is represented in the case by boutique Dublin law firm Sheridan Fitzgerald Solicitors, which specialises in media and defamation law. The practice previously represented Sinn Féin TD Donnchadh O’Laoghaire in his defamation suit against RTÉ over comments made about him on RTÉ 1’s Liveline show in 2020. The Cork South Central TD settled the case in 2021 for circa €150,000, according to reports at the time.

Andrews was formerly a Fianna Fáil politician. He quit the party in 2012 and joined Sinn Féin the following year.

He is the latest in a line of Irish politicians, many from his own party, to file defamation proceedings against media outlets in the past decade. An action by Sinn Féin party leader Mary Lou McDonald against RTÉ is currently pending before the courts.