The Indo Daily: Behind Closed Doors | Ep 2 – When texts become testimony

This is the story of how the disgraced landlord Christian Carter was outed for failing to pay taxes. But instead of issuing an apology or an explanation for his actions, he took aim at the journalist – the Irish Independent’s Amy Molloy – who reported on his activities.

She said. “I got a call from my editor, Gareth Morgan, who had just received a phone call from a court reporter stating that Christian Carter was in the Dublin District Court and he had actually filed for a restraining order against me after I recently made some inquiries about his tax debts.”

Carter had claimed that Ms Molloy had been “stalking and harassing him for years” and that the restraining order he had sought would mean that she “could not write an article about him for a period of five years”.

Today on the concluding episode of ‘Behind Closed Doors’, we go behind the headlines of the court case and hear what happened when Amy Molloy took to the witness stand to give her evidence.

“Back in 2017, I was spending hours chatting to our lawyers, going through everything and having to make sure all my T’s were crossed and my I’s were dotted. And then here I was in 2025, sitting in a witness box defending a restraining order application. It just seemed absolutely crazy to me,” she said.

As Carter attempted to keep his name out of the spotlight, little did he realise that his previous text messages would be revealed in court and cast a shadow over who actually was the true victim in this legal battle.

Today we bring you the concluding episode of Behind Closed Doors, the two-part special from The Indo Daily. Fionnán Sheahan is joined by Amy Molloy, Social Affairs correspondent with the Irish Independent, and by Kevin Doyle, Group Head of News at Mediahuis Ireland, to hear the evidence that Amy gave from the witness stand, and to explain the verdict from the judge and its ramifications for the freedom of the Irish press.

Listen to episode 1 here: