DefamationWise

Your good name, and the law, in plain English

Someone put your name in the wrong sentence.

In Ireland that may be defamation, and you have one year to answer it. What counts, what you can do today, and what it really costs.

Free tools turn the rules into your own dates and routes, every fact cited to a dated official source. Whether it was your name in the sentence, or your hand that wrote it.

First, which side are you on?

Then, the clock

Open the full checker

One year from publication, two at most with the court’s leave. Enter a date to see yours. Nothing you type leaves your browser.

Rule change tracker · checked 9 Oct 2026Defamation (Amendment) Act 2026: in force since 1 March, with Part 7 (anti-SLAPP) still to commence →

Three questions

Is it defamation? What can I do today? What would it cost?

Most people never issue proceedings. The free routes come first, the clock decides how long you have, and the figures are what courts have actually awarded, not what an advert promises.

  1. Question 1

    Is it defamation?

    A statement, that tends to injure your reputation, published to someone else, that identifies you. The four things you have to show, and the defences the other side can raise.

  2. Question 2

    What can I do today?

    A platform notice, a written request, the Press Ombudsman, a broadcaster complaint, Google delisting: all free. Then a letter, then court, only where the list says so.

  3. Question 3

    What would it cost?

    What courts have awarded, the Supreme Court's bands, honest cost ranges, and what happens to costs if you lose, reject a lodgment, or sue in the wrong court.

The tools

Your own dates and routes, not a leaflet

Everything runs in your browser. Nothing you type is sent to a server, and no tool says whether a statement is defamatory: that is for a court.

Ordered for I've been defamed. Change the side in the header.

Tool 1FreeHow long do I have?Time-limit checkerEnter the date it was published and see your one-year limit, the two-year outer limit that needs the court's leave, and the Press Ombudsman's and broadcaster's shorter windows.Check my dates →Tool 2FreeWhat can I do today?Route finderSix questions, then an ordered list of routes with what each costs, how long it takes and what it can achieve. Free routes first; a solicitor only where the list says you may need one.Find my routes →Tool 3FreeWhat do I send?Notice and complaint builderThe text of a Digital Services Act notice to a platform, a complaint to a newspaper editor, or a complaint to a broadcaster, built from your own answers. Free; nothing is stored.Build my notice →Tool 4FreeWhat would it cost, and what do I risk?Awards and costsWhat courts have actually awarded, the Supreme Court's bands, honest cost ranges, and what happens to costs if you lose, reject a lodgment, or sue in the wrong court.See the figures →Tool 5FreeWhat do I keep, and what do I not do?Evidence kitA printable checklist of what to capture today and what not to do. On the accused side: what to do with a solicitor's letter, and what not to do.Open the checklist →

The guides · 27 at launch

Seven chapters, for both sides of the problem

  1. Chapter 1

    Is it defamation?

    What defamation is in Ireland, the four things you have to show, and the defences the other side can raise.

    4 guides

  2. Chapter 2

    The clock

    The one-year time limit, the two-year outer limit, and when the clock starts for a post, an article or a repeat.

    2 guides

  3. Chapter 3

    Online and social media

    Posts, reviews, group chats, anonymous accounts, Google results, and the Garda route for threats and intimate images.

    6 guides

  4. Chapter 4

    Shops, work and everyday life

    Falsely accused of shoplifting, defamation at work, and neighbours, clubs and community pages.

    3 guides

  5. Chapter 5

    Newspapers and broadcasters

    The Press Ombudsman, Coimisiún na Meán, and what fair and reasonable publication now means.

    3 guides

  6. Chapter 6

    Court: cost, time, outcomes

    What a case costs and who pays, which court, what courts have awarded, apologies and the offer of amends, and legal aid.

    5 guides

  7. Chapter 7

    On the receiving end

    A solicitor's letter, the new retail defence, companies and serious financial loss, and being sued over a review.

    4 guides

Rules version 2026-10, checked 9 October 2026, Defamation Act 2009 as amended by the Defamation (Amendment) Act 2026. Every rule is traceable to a source: Defamation Act 2009, s.6 (Irish Statute Book) · Defamation Act 2009, s.35 (abolition of criminal libel) · Defamation (Amendment) Act 2026 (No. 2 of 2026) · Defamation Act 2009, s.38 (limitation of actions) · Defamation Act 2009, s.11 (multiple publication) · Statute of Limitations 1957, s.11 (revised) · Courts Service: the Circuit Court · Courts and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2013 · Defamation Act 2009, Part 3 (defences) · Law Society Gazette: Shoplifting-probe defamation protection for retailers (March 2026) · Courts Service: judgments (Higgins v Irish Aviation Authority [2022] IESC 13) · Mediation Act 2017, s.14 · Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 (Digital Services Act), Article 16 · Office of the Press Ombudsman: making a complaint · Coimisiún na Meán: broadcasting complaints · Google: EU privacy removal request form · Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Act 2020 · Civil Legal Aid Act 1995, s.28 · Dáil written answer 345, 20 September 2011 (legal aid and defamation) · Legal Aid Board · Courts Service Annual Report 2024 (7 July 2025) · RDJ LLP: A tale of two courts (30 July 2025) · S.I. No. 61/2026, Defamation (Amendment) Act 2026 (Commencement) Order 2026