O’Brien: ‘I could easily have written a cheque’ if the loans had been called in

The media mogul took the stand last week in a High Court defamation action over a 2015 article in The Sunday Business Post

Denis O’Brien arriving at the Four Courts last week: he complains he was wrongly ‘lumped’ in with a ‘gang’ of ‘developer kings’ Picture: Fergal Phillips

On Sunday March 15, 2015, the businessman Denis O’Brien left Mass in Donnybrook church and bought a copy of The Sunday Business Post from his regular vendor outside.

“Top secret” in red lettering capped the page one splash. His name appeared above the fold with the names Sean Quinn, Derek Quinlan, Sean Dunne, Liam Carroll, Sean Mulryan, Johnny Ronan and Ray Grehan.

“22 men and €26 billion” was the headline. Billed as “the ...