Kerry judge conducted 'manifestly unfair' hearing over independent election candidate, High Court says

High Court Reporters

A judge in Kerry conducted a "manifestly unfair" hearing in which he sent independent election candidate Michelle Keane to prison for contempt of court over an alleged refusal to take down a social media post about a garda, the High Court has said.

Keane is to seek an award of damages over her jailing.

Judge Brian Cregan made the comments as he overturned a finding of contempt by Judge James O'Donohoe in Listowel Circuit Court on December 10th 2024, when he jailed Keane after she allegedly refused to give an undertaking not to remove the post.

Keane, a mother of two young children, purged her contempt after spending what Judge Cregan said were "three difficult days" in Limerick Prison and in the invidious position of needing to be home with her children as it came up to Christmas.

In the 2024 General Election, she received 1,530 first preference votes and later sought to bring High Court proceedings making a number of claims about irregularities on election night but failed on two occasions.

In his judgment overturning her jailing for contempt, Judge Cregan said Keane was active on social media when she stood in the general and local elections and it appeared a number of complaints were made to gardaí about some of her posts.

Listowel Sergeant Melanie Walsh, who brought the Circuit Court case which culminated in Keane's jailing for contempt, said she was instructed to investigate these complaints, which the sergeant later said were about allegedly homophobic and racist posts.

Sgt Walsh phoned Keane asking her to come to the local station to talk about it but Keane took offence and asked who made the complaints and whether they had been made to damage her political campaign.

In the following weeks, Keane posted other material, including a recording of the phone call with the sergeant, the judge said.

Sgt Keane then issued defamation proceedings and sought an injunction to have the material removed. She also said she believed there could be "no interpretation" that what she said in the phone call to Ms Keane "could be deemed to be threatening or aggressive with the defendant".

Judge Cregan said Keane first learned of the Circuit Court proceedings when she saw a story about it in a local newspaper.

Keane complained she was not properly served with the court papers and was too unwell to attend court on the day of the injunction hearing and said it should not have been heard in her absence.

The injunction was granted and in the meantime Keane lodged an appeal to the High Court.

But a hearing in which the sergeant sought her attachment and committal to prison for contempt went ahead.

Judge Cregan said at that hearing the sergeant only complained about one Facebook posting in which Keane says a "female garda in a North Kerry garda station tried to sabotage my political campaign".

He said Keane was never served with a copy of papers saying she could be imprisoned, which is a key ingredient of attachment and committal applications. She also denied she had breached any terms of the earlier Circuit Court injunction.

When the hearing took place, Judge O'Donohoe, after listening to Keane for just one minute in what was a 10-minute hearing, told her to go outside and discuss with Sgt Walsh's side on the terms of an undertaking she had to give to court.

When the parties returned to court, no undertaking was agreed, and the judge directed that Keane be committed directly to prison.

Judge Cregan said when one reviews the transcripts and listens to the recording of that hearing, it was clear that it was manifestly unfair to Keane.

"It is a fundamental principle of constitutional and natural justice that the court must listen to the other side", he said.

Judge O'Donohoe did not give her any meaningful opportunity to be heard and paid no attention whatsoever to anything she said.

Judge Cregan overturned the finding of contempt on a number of grounds including that Keane had already removed posts and had indicated she would remove the remaining post if directed.

He also said she may have misunderstood the exact import of the order and had not deliberately breached it.

He set aside the order that she should be imprisoned as it was unlawful. She had been deprived of her constitutional rights to fair procedures and to a fair hearing, he said.