Go on, say sorry — you’ll feel so much better for it

ONE of this country’s most eminent judges once acted for me in a libel case. I had published a book about famous Irish murders, and, in my account of one of them, had accidentally side-swiped an innocent bystander. Said innocent bystander happened to read the reference in the book and sued me.

The amazing thing was that the bystander was still alive, since the murder had been a pre-WWII killing. But alive they were, of advanced years, and deeply upset that everybody could read a false allegation against them — originally made by the accused in the case — and think they were a rotten person.

I wanted to plead guilty straight away. In fact, I wanted to go to the bystander’s house and say I was sorry. Sorry without prejudice: we would still pay damages.