Former Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams has been awarded €100,000 (£84,000) in damages after winning his libel claim against the BBC.
Mr Adams said that a BBC Spotlight programme, and an accompanying online story, defamed him by alleging he sanctioned the killing of former Sinn Fein official Denis Donaldson.
Mr Adams denies any involvement in Mr Donald’s death.
On Friday, a jury at the High Court in Dublin found in his favour, after determining that was the meaning of words included in the programme and article.
It also found that the BBC’s actions were not in good faith and that the broadcaster had not acted in a fair and reasonable way.
Mr Donaldson was shot dead in Co Donegal in 2006, months after admitting his role as a police and MI5 agent over 20 years.
In the BBC programme, broadcast in September 2016, an anonymous source given the pseudonym Martin claimed the shooting was sanctioned by the political and military leadership of the IRA.
Martin claimed that Mr Adams gave “the final say”.
In 2009, the dissident republican group the Real IRA claimed responsibility for Mr Donaldson’s killing. A Garda investigation into the matter remains ongoing.
Mr Adams said the allegation was a “grievous smear”, while the BBC described the legal action as a “cynical attempt to launder his reputation”.
The high-profile republican sought damages of at least €200,000 (£168,000) from the BBC.
However, the public service broadcaster had argued it would be a “cruel joke” to award the former Sinn Fein president any damages.
The jury determined that Mr Adams should be awarded 100,000, which the jury heard falls on the medium scale for defamation.
Trial judge Mr Justice Alexander Owens sent the jury out to begin deliberations at 10.25am on Thursday morning, in the fifth week of proceedings.
They were tasked with determining whether the words in the BBC spotlight programme and accompanying article, on which Mr Adams brought the complaint, mean that he sanctioned and approved the murder of Mr Donaldson.
Mr Owens said they were to consider whether it was “more likely than not” that a “hypothetical reasonable reader” would take that meaning from the words.
The BBC had argued that the jury should not find that this was the meaning of the words, instead saying the claim had been put forward as an allegation that was immediately followed by Mr Adams’ denial.
Having agreed with Mr Adams on that point, they then had to consider whether the broadcaster’s actions were fair and reasonable as well as whether it acted in good faith.
They determined that the BBC had not acted in such a manner.
They returned with their verdict on Friday after six hours and 49 minutes of deliberations in total.
Mr Owens told the jury that the BBC had put forward the position that Mr Adams had “no reputation at all” and the broadcaster had argued to the jury that it should award only nominal damages, putting forward the option of just €1.
Mr Adams’ team had argued that the defamation fell within the “very serious” or “exceptional” end of the scale.
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