A sixteen-page High Court decision put to the sword flimsy attempts to force the Journal.ie to retract a description of Michelle Keane’s commercial practices, with the gormless Kerry social media star now potentially liable to pay tens of thousands in legal costs.
The courtroom (non) drama originated in a 2025 article by the publication pertaining to alleged misinformation by Keane around government assistance to Ukraine. Rather strangely not challenging the substance of the piece, Keane took umbrage at the non-controversial claim that her company, Kingdom Water, is “a company selling water,’ failing to reflect her attempt to break into the luxury water market.
The article, subsequently amended, now states:
‘Keane, an author and a campaigner against 5G masts, also runs a company called Kingdom Water, which she has previously said intends to sell “luxury water” from streams she claims were revealed to her by angels.’
Keane had argued in court that this statement was defamatory because it suggested dishonesty or misleading conduct about her business activities, as the Knocknagoshel politician sought an injunction under defamation law.
Mr Justice Liam Kennedy was not persuaded.
Effectively throwing out Keane’s argument that the error by the Journal constituted defamation and opening up the prospect of costs being awarded against her. In short, the court treated the matter as a relatively minor factual inaccuracy rather than a defamatory allegation. Justice Kennedy was unusually blunt in his ruling, describing Keane’s application as having “no plausible basis” and as “particularly unmeritorious”,
Hardly the first time she has graced an Irish courtroom, Keane has locked swords with the Healy-Raes and received a three-day stint at Limerick Prison (later viewed as judicially excessive) during a legal entanglement with a Garda over alleged defamation proceedings.
Viewed by many, even on the populist right, as a joke figure regardless of her quixotic sincerity, Keane nonetheless captured a respectable 1.9% as a first-time general election candidate coming just shy of a councillor seat in 2024 with over 10% of first preferences.
Irish defamation laws, whether against plaintiffs or the defendants, remain a thankless minefield, with one speculating if the fiscal attrition may put a damper on Keane’s Oireachtas hopes. Transposing reactive right-wing punditry from the United States to Irish political life against named public figures is a costly enterprise, further sign, if any was needed, of Keane’s unsuitability.
https://twitter.com/RoddyBMurray2/status/2094519980897206289/video/1
Already bearing the brunt of a misfired O’Connell Street protest over the cost of living, and lambasted even from the right for wasting time on boomer rhetoric about vaccines, For her own sake Keane may see this week’s legal ruling as an opportune moment to hang up the political gloves.
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Typical of the Clowns in Irish Politics.
Abusing the privalige of been elected by the
People to further their own selfish privaliges.
Water is a natural life source,like food, but should never be allowed to sell in plastic bottles especially,it totally contradicts the climate concerns and costs to humanity to
produce.
Food today can be accessed in many forms
but water is a singular resource that cannot be replaced or subsituted by mans enterprise.
It is not great business acumen to tap this natural gift at source or in some cases by tap
as a commodity for profit.
…yes we pay for water use but giving licence
to fools to sell and abuse this life dependancy
is criminal…the ultimate being DATA HUBS in
persuit of AI Fever and the equal abuse of
power consumption, alla electricity.
…you may all die of thirst and lack of power as long as stupid selfish scammers exist.
Michelle is quite right to criticise vaccines, and the Covid vaccine in particular. Does anyone support forced vaccination?