letter from Dublin
Evangelical churches in the Republic of Ireland are seeking guidance relating to online services following a case where a church in the Irish midlands was sued due to the content of their live-stream.
The pastors of an evangelical church in Co. Offaly were ordered to pay €14,400 (approximately £12,574) to a father following a defamation action where his teenage daughter spoke about him during her baptismal service. The baptismal service was live-streamed on the church Facebook page, although the link was later removed by the church.
Many evangelical churches across the Republic of Ireland have been live-streaming their services since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and continue to do so for those that cannot attend in-person. Services are regularly live-streamed on church websites and other platforms including YouTube and Facebook.
