{"id":536150,"date":"2026-07-06T18:23:08","date_gmt":"2026-07-06T18:23:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/536150\/"},"modified":"2026-07-06T18:23:08","modified_gmt":"2026-07-06T18:23:08","slug":"wolfe-tones-singer-brian-warfield-settles-liveline-defamation-action-against-rte","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/536150\/","title":{"rendered":"Wolfe Tones singer Brian Warfield settles &#8216;Liveline&#8217; defamation action against RT\u00c9"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Wolfe Tones singer <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.irishexaminer.com\/lifestyle\/artsandculture\/arid-41111584.html\">Brian Warfield<\/a> has settled a defamation action against <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.irishexaminer.com\/maintopics\/rt%C3%A9_topic-5097644.html\">RT\u00c9<\/a>, brought over comments made by broadcaster Joe Duffy during a  Livelive segment three years ago.<\/p>\n<p>Mr Warfield and then  Liveline host Joe Duffy clashed during an on-air discussion on August 15, 2023, about the Wolfe Tones song  Celtic Symphony.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Mr Warfield initiated defamation proceedings against RT\u00c9 complaining of comments made by Joe Duffy during the broadcast.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">On Monday, Niall Buckley, counsel for Mr Warfield instructed by Marie Hans of WP Tweed solicitors, told Mr Justice Anthony Barr the case had been resolved. Counsel said the proceedings could be struck out on consent, with no order relating to legal costs.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">The judge made the order as sought.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Speaking outside  <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.irishexaminer.com\/news\/courtandcrime\/\">court<\/a>, Mr Warfield said the terms of his agreement with RT\u00c9 were confidential. \u201cI can\u2019t divulge anything&#8230; regarding the settlement. We are sworn to silence,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">He said the case had come to a \u201cfriendly conclusion\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">In a statement, WP Tweed said the proceedings had concluded \u201cto [Mr Warfield&#8217;s] satisfaction\u201d, adding, \u201c[h]e has been totally vindicated and his reputation restored\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">The firm said the settlement follows a decision of Coimisi\u00fan na Me\u00e1n, which upheld Mr Warfield\u2019s complaint concerning the  Liveline segment, and \u201cfound reasons to suspect\u201d breaches of the broadcaster\u2019s code of fairness, objectivity, and impartiality.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">\u201cThe coimisi\u00fan found that the presenter had advanced a partisan position and moderated the discussion in a manner that did not afford Mr Warfield a fair opportunity to respond. It further found that Mr Duffy\u2019s approach and conduct went beyond what could be considered fair treatment,\u201d the firm said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">RT\u00c9 was contacted for comment.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">The band\u2019s career began in Dublin in 1964, and gained popularity with hits including  Celtic Symphony,  Irish Eyes,  Grace,  Streets of New York, and  Let The People Sing.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">The band has enjoyed a resurgence in popularity in recent years. In September 2023, they drew the biggest crowd in Electric Picnic\u2019s Electric Arena in the festival\u2019s 19-year history.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">The Wolfe Tones played Dublin&#8217;s 3Arena on Friday and Saturday and play another two shows at the venue on July 24 and 25.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Wolfe Tones singer Brian Warfield has settled a defamation action against RT\u00c9, brought over comments made by broadcaster&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":536151,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[321,54,93,61,60,6085],"class_list":["post-536150","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-celebrities","tag-courts","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-rte"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/536150","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=536150"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/536150\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/536151"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=536150"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=536150"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=536150"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}