Defamation & Data Protection Law

Sarah Ewart & Amnesty International (The Abortion Litigation)

Darragh has appeared in many of the seminal human rights cases in recent times in Ireland. He acted for Sarah Ewart and Amnesty International to which saw the law changed in respect of abortion in Northern Ireland. Darragh was also labelled The Times ‘Lawyer of the Week’ for his work on this case.

The Hooded Men (Ireland v UK)

Darragh was instructed in the landmark torture case of the Hooded Men in the application for revision of the Ireland v United Kingdom 1978 decision by the European Court of Human Rights.  Following Darragh’s success before the UK Supreme Court that the decision not to investigate was unlawful, the Chief Constable formally apologised to the Hooded Men.

The relevant media footage can be accessed here:  CNN, RTE, BBC, and the Journal. 

JR87 – Challenge to Religious Education in Northern Ireland

JR87 was the landmark legal case on behalf of a child who challenged the nature of religious education (RE) and collective worship in Northern Ireland schools. In 2025, the London Supreme Court found that the exclusively Christian-focused RE and collective worship, as delivered under the existing core syllabus in NI schools, breaches the human rights of children and parents. The case has far-reaching implications for education law across the UK.

The relevant media footage can be accessed here and here.

Aidan McAnespie

Darragh was instructed by the family of Aidan McAnespie who was killed by a British Soldier having been shot in the back whilst walking to a football game 1988.  On June 2018, on foot of an application lodged on behalf of the family, a decision was taken to prosecute David Holden for the killing.  In February 2023, this resulted in the first prosecution of a British Soldier post the Good Friday Agreement.  

The relevant media footage can be accessed here and here.

The Judgment can be accessed here.

The Brexit Case – Gina Miller No.1

In 2016, Gina Miller initiated legal action arising out of the controversial use of the then Government’s prerogative to execute Brexit, and to leave the EU.  A group of individuals including two British citizens living in France, a Gibraltarian national, a Welsh citizen and Fergal McFerran, president of NUS-USI formed the ‘peoples challenge’.  Darragh was instructed as part of the legal team compiled to represent the peoples challenge in the Brexit Supreme Court case.  This case has been dubbed by legal commentators as one of the most significant constitutional cases of the decade.      

The relevant media footage can be viewed here and here. 

The Legacy Act – Martina Dillon & Others

Darragh was instructed as part of the team on behalf of the lead applicants in the seminal case which challenged the British Government’s contentious ‘Legacy Act’ which sought to enact legislation to grant amnesties and immunity to perpetrators for acts committed during the period known as a ‘the Troubles’ in Northern Ireland. The NI Court of Appeal found that certain provisions of the legislation were unlawful and incompatible with human rights.

The relevant media footage can be accessed here.

Other Cases:

The Glenanne Series: Re Edward Barnard judicial review successfully compelled the PSNI to investigate the murders of more than 120 people arising out of allegations of state collusion. The Court found it was unlawful not to investigate, and as a result, an independent police force was tasked to investigate (Op Denton).

Loughgall (Re Brigid Hughes): Instructed by the Loughgall Truth & Justice Campaign and the families bereaved as a result of the shootings at Loughgall on 8^th May 1987.  Darragh successfully secured a fresh inquest following a judicial review challenge to the decision by the Secretary of State to issue a ‘National Security Sensitive’ Certificate. Following this, Darragh appeared in the landmark case of Re Brigid Hughes which found that the then former first Minister Arlene Foster MLA had acted unlawfully in failing to release the funding for Legacy Inquests. The relevant media footage can be accessed here:

Legacy Victims Pensions: Re Brian Turley was the successful judicial review against the Government to implement and fund the Legacy Victims Pension Scheme.  The relevant media footage can be accessed here and here.  

Covid School Closure: Re JR105 was the judicial review taken by the parent of the child at the inception of the Covid Pandemic arguing for their immediate closure to protect life. The case was widely reported here, here and here.

Kneecap

Acted for the Irish Rap Band Kneecap in their challenge to the decision by the British Government to charge Mo Chara with terrorist offences following a concert in London. Instructed by the band to lead their International legal team which involved proceedings in London, USA and Canada.

Ibrahim Halawa

Darragh acted for the Irish Teenager, Ibrahim Halawa, who was detained whilst on holiday in Cairo, Egypt and who was put on mass trial at risk of the death penalty. Darragh acted for Ibrahim in seeking his return to Ireland, making submissions before the EU Parliament, the African Commission on Human Rights and the United Nations.  In October 2017 Ibrahim Halawa was acquitted of all charges before the Egyptian Courts and repatriated to Ireland. 

Media coverage of the UN Intervention is available here. The relevant media footage can be accessed here and here.

Carles Puigdemont

In 2018, Darragh was one of the lawyers who travelled to Brussels to meet the then president of Catalonia, Carles Puigdemont and provided advice and assistance in respect of his ongoing bid against the extradition proceedings issued by the state of Spain. 

Private Sean Rooney

Instructed on behalf of the Irish Soldier Private Seán Rooney who was murdered whilst on peacekeeping duty in Lebanon on behalf of the United Nations. Darragh appears domestically before the Coroner’s Court in Dublin for the family, and is retained to advise on the criminal proceedings currently ongoing in Lebanon.

The Tamil Community

Darragh was retained on behalf of a number of individuals from the Tamil Community in a variety of actions arising out of the conflict in Sri Lanka. He acted in a ground-breaking case in for a Tamil widow against the PSNI in seeking damages for their role in providing training to the Sri Lankan police in 1986. In addition, he was retained to act on behalf of an individual who challenged his conviction for involvement with the Tamil Tigers, on the basis that the trial process was contrary to international law, and the confession was obtained by torture.

The relevant media footage can be viewed here and here.  The Tamil Guardian also covered the story here. In addition, the latter case can be accessed here.  

Lisa Smith

Lisa Smith was a former Irish army soldier who travelled to Syria, and was eventually detained by the Turkish authorities as a suspected ISIS fighter.  Darragh acted for Lisa in successfully securing her and her daughter’s repatriation to Ireland.  The UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights & Counter Terrorism intervened in Lisa’s case.  Lisa was the first alleged ISIS bride ever to be returned to Ireland. 

The relevant media footage can be accessed here and here.

Encrochat – French Court of Cassation

Instructed with Binsard Martine in the landmark challenge on behalf of Sam McCaughey before the French Court of Cassation regarding the admissibility of the Encrochat evidence in Courts in Northern Ireland. This is the first challenge of its kind launched on the international sphere challenging the admissibility domestically in NI.

The media coverage of the case is available here.

Other Cases:

Keyu & Others (UK Supreme Court) case relating to the massacre at Batang Kali, Malaysia. Acted for the interveners the Pat Finucane Centre and Rights Watch UK.

Bilal Abdul Kareem v Gina Cheri Haspel et al (USA Court of Appeal District of Columbia) – Proceedings against the American State policy on the use of drones in the taking of life.

Bob Vylan v RTE

Instructed on behalf of the musician Bob Vlyan in his defamation proceedings against the Irish National Broadcaster RTÉ arising out of his performance at Glastonbury.

Kneecap v Vince Gasparro

Instructed on behalf of the Irish Rap Group Kneecap in their defamation proceedings against the Canadian MP Vince Gasparro arising out of a video to which he published on the social media site X (formerly known as Twitter).

Actions against Big Tech

Darragh has been instructed on a number of occasions to sue big tech in which social media, the internet, or AI has been misused. This has included bringing proceedings having data deleted from the internet under the principles of the right to be forgotten (OH v Google), injunctions seeking the removal of content published online (the case of ZXY) and suing for damages in which Big Tech or the Social Media giants have acted improperly or unlawfully (the Facebook moderator case and EH v Meta).

Other Cases:

Re Fine Point Films – Darragh acted for the International media organisations, Index on Censorship and the English PEN who intervened in the successful judicial review challenge to a search warrant imposed on two investigative journalists, Trevor Birney and Barry McCaffrey.

Phil Miller – acted for the renowned investigative journalist Phil Miller in an appeal against the Information Commissioner relating to a report withheld by the PSNI regarding the structure of MI5 in 1973.

High Value Commercial Litigation

Darragh has been instructed in some of the highest value commercial claims before the Courts in Ireland and the UK, to include:

• Instructed in a seven figure claim on behalf of a number of Hotel Owners arising out of business interruption insurance during the covid pandemic in Dublin.
• Has acted for a Chinese Pharmaceutical Company involved in litigation based in Belfast arising out of events in China.
• Secured a payout of £16.7million on behalf of all NI Taxi Drivers following the failure to compensate them during the Covid 19 Pandemic.
• Instructed on behalf of a high profile Irish Businessman against the Irish Government for breach of contract which resulted in a seven figure payout.
• Six Figure Resolution for a New York company who were involved in Litigation in both London and Belfast.
• Instructed in the first ever High Court litigation in Belfast arising out of Cryptocurrency and Cryptocurrency fraud.

Negotiation and Mediation

Given his experience, Darragh is regularly involved in negotiating and mediating disputes between Commercial and Corporate entities whereby disputes have arisen between Shareholders or Company Officers. This experience has resulted in Darragh being retained in various disputes both locally and internationally.