Last Friday, 5 December, I spoke at a symposium on freedom of expression organised by the Law Department of Trinity College Dublin. I note that in the intervening period a very important address was given by Onora O'Neill of the Royal Irish Academy on a related topic. I noted that growing attention was being paid to the right of freedom of expression and the responsibilities that flow from the exercise of that right. Given that the concept of freedom of expression or free speech is presumed to be a fundamental right in a modern democracy it is rarely subject to critical scrutiny. We are concerned here with something that is the very essence of a democracy – the right to communicate facts, opinions and comment.