On a number of occasions during eight days in the high court, Judge Jonathan Swift queried if he should hear from both legal teams as to whether the case itself was an abuse of process. In English and Welsh civil law, a judge is able to stop, stay or strike out a case if they decide the legal process – in this case a civil claim for personal injuries damages – is being used unjustly or improperly. But once the judge raised the issue of abuse of process, it was clear that the costs order would be reviewed if Swift decided to throw it out on those grounds, she said. The claimants had raised £110,000 from a crowdfunding campaign that, to quote Ganesh, received many small donations of “three quid or a fiver”. Throughout the case, the Adams side was confident, if frequently irritated by the nature of the evidence put before the court from a former IRA member, Shane Paul O’Doherty, and ex-soldiers and police.

Source: The Irish Times March 20, 2026 22:00 UTC