Heather Humphreys made controversial remarks about Paul Murphy during an RTÉ Radio 1 presidential debate, characterising his role in the 2014 Jobstown protest in terms his lawyers say amount to accusing him of “violent criminal conduct,” “gender-based violence,” and being a “misogynist.” These comments led Paul Murphy to initiate defamation proceedings against her, which she has publicly dismissed as a political “stunt” and as a tactic of the “hard left” to silence critics.

What she said about Paul Murphy

  • During an RTÉ Radio 1 “This Week” presidential debate, Humphreys referred back to the 2014 Jobstown water‑charges protest involving Joan Burton, saying there were “two women who were victims that day” and clearly tying Paul Murphy to that incident in a negative way.
  • According to Murphy’s legal letter, her description effectively accused him of engaging in violent criminal behaviour, committing an act of gender‑based violence, and being a misogynist, even though he had previously been acquitted of false imprisonment over the protest.

Legal and political fallout

  • Paul Murphy’s solicitors sent Humphreys a formal letter demanding she withdraw the remarks, apologise, and cover his legal costs, warning that defamation proceedings would follow if she did not.
  • When he went ahead and filed a defamation case in the High Court, Humphreys publicly said this showed how “the hard left and Sinn Féin” respond to criticism by “tak[ing] to the courts,” framing the move as an attempt to shut her up during the presidential race.

Her response and “stunt” comment

  • Humphreys has “stood over” her comments, saying she was recalling video footage of two women “trapped in their car” at Jobstown and insisting she would not be silenced by legal threats.
  • In later media coverage and discussion, she has been reported as calling Murphy’s defamation case a “stunt,” with online forums highlighting that she doubled down instead of retracting or moderating her remarks once lawyers became involved.

How Murphy and others reacted

  • Paul Murphy has described Humphreys’ account as “an out and out lie,” arguing that it contradicts what a jury found and amounts to a smear against both him and presidential rival Catherine Connolly, whom Humphreys had also dragged into the dispute by calling Murphy her “campaign manager.”
  • Commentators and forum users have criticised Humphreys’ remarks as calculated negative campaigning, noting that Murphy’s acquittal in the Jobstown case makes any implication of criminal guilt especially sensitive in a defamation context.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.