Judge puts stay on most of €900,000 Sunday World libel award

The High Court has put a stay on the majority of the €900,000 damages awarded to a Sligo man who successfully sued the Sunday World newspaper over an article that alleged he was a "drug king".

Last week Martin McDonagh (aged 45), of Cranmore Drive, Sligo, received a record €900,000 plus costs award from a High Court jury in a libel action after he sued the Sunday World over an article published on September 5, 1999, which described him as a "Traveller drug king."