December 24 1924
NORTHERN Government Versus the Irish News – First Challenge to a Newspaper Under the Civil Authorities (Special Powers) Act Passed in 1922
In the Belfast Summons Court yesterday, before Mr H Toppin, HM (presiding), and Major McCallum, HM, the case of District Inspector O’Beirne against the Irish News, Ltd, and Mr T[imothy] McCarthy, editor, was heard.
The summons, which was at the suit of District Inspector O’Beirne, cited as defendants the Irish News, Ltd, and Mr Timothy McCarthy, 131 Antrim Road, Belfast, editor. It was alleged “that at Belfast on the 13th November defendants did an act of such a nature as to be calculated to be prejudicial to the preservation of peace and the maintenance of order in Northern Ireland, to wit, did publish and spread a false report in the Irish News newspaper of said date, alleging under the heading, ‘Bombs Again’, that a dastardly outrage had been committed at the house of a Tyrone Catholic, contrary to the Civil Authorities (Special Powers) Act (Northern Ireland), 1922, and to the regulations made thereunder”. Mr JR Moorhead, Crown Solicitor, prosecuted; Mr W Beattie, KC (instructed by Mr Thomas Maguire) represented Mr T McCarthy, editor.
Mr Moorhead, in opening the case, said the prosecution was brought under the Civil Authorities (Special Powers) Act. This Act was somewhat special and dealt with special circumstances and for that reason it bore a certain analogy to the Whiskey Acts. Their Worships would remember that the evidence in support of a conviction under these Acts should not only prove an overt act, but prove a state of disorder. That was the recital in the Whiskey Acts. He might say he drafted the summons in the present case with some care, and having regard to the words of the Act, and their Worships would observe that the title of the Act was “an Act to empower certain authorities in Northern Ireland to take steps for the preservation of peace and maintenance of order” which was the foundation of the Act and regulations. He quoted from Section 2, Sub-Section 4 of the Act, and said that the words in that Section were incorporated in the summons. In the present case the overt act complained of was under Regulation 23, and the remainder of the summons was drafted under the words of Regulation 23 which stated that: -
“No person shall by word of mouth or in writing or in any newspaper, periodical, book, circular, or other printed publication (a) spread false reports or make false statements or (b) spread reports or make statements intended to cause disaffection”, and so on.
While the Irish News was fined, over 140 publications were banned under the Special Powers Act, the vast majority being republican titles such as An Phoblacht, Sinn Féin, Poblachta na h’Éireann, Éire and the Irish Nation.
