After being the subject of intense media scrutiny and on the second anniversary of Katy French’s death, Kieron ‘The Wolf’ Ducie breaks his silence and exclusively tells The Post that he has no problem suing newspapers to clear his name and intends to do exactly that

by Paul Neilan
EXCLUSIVE

KIERON Ducie is to sue The Sunday World and a number of other newspapers over a series of articles it and others have printed about him relating to Katy French’s death two years ago on Sunday, December 6, 2007.
The Meath Post has been informed by Ducie that solicitors’ letters are being drafted by his Dublin-based solicitor, Mr Michael Staines, and will be sent to the papers this week.
Other papers in the firing line for the forty-year-old Kilmessan man are The Mail, The Mail on Sunday and The Evening Herald all for articles surrounding his relationship with the 24-year-old socialite, who died in Our Lady of Lourdes, Navan, after she collapsed in his home.
Speaking exclusively to The Post, Ducie confirmed his intention to sue over the adverse media coverage he has received.
“I reject all of these absurd allegations,” he said. “If there were any substance to these ridiculous rumours, I wouldn’t even be walking the streets. I kept a dignified silence for 10 months [after French's death in 2007] but during this time the press took liberties and painted me with scandalous allegations, which are being dealt with by my solicitor [Staines].”
The Sunday World said they put Ducie under “a lengthy enquiry” for the last two weeks under headlines like “Katy: The Shocking Truth” alleging that he lied about what exactly happened on the tragic night.
The Meath businessman also featured in Jason O’Toole’s recently-published book The Last Days of Katy French, which is set to be optioned for a film and has interested publishers in the UK, Turkey, Italy, Germany and France in purchasing the foreign rights.
In the book, Ducie is seen as one of the few genuine friends of French’s, constantly reassuring her and offering her advice but the Sunday World alleges that he lied about a two-hour time period after her death.
Ducie, however, was questioned at length by gardai about the matter and released without any charge.
French’s death has seen the public enthralled and reviled by each fresh report so much so that O’Toole’s publishing house Merlin/Wolfhound has been forced to defend the book from fierce critics.
“Over the past few months, a number of articles have been published regarding the book, The Last Days of Katy French by Jason O’Toole. Many of these articles have contained inaccurate and sensational claims about the contents of the book and about the position that it takes on Katy’s life,” a spokesman said.
“The media reported extensively on Katy both before and after her death. Why, then, is there such vehement objection to a book on a story that they themselves consider to be so newsworthy?
“With the publication of the book, journalists have once again spotted an opportunity to use Katy’s image and story to sell newspapers, while, at the same time, they have attempted to take the moral high ground by condemning a book which they had not read and by making assumptions about its contents.
“We believe that The Last Days of Katy French is a balanced biography; it neither vilifies nor glorifies Katy but rather tells the story of her life and career, without passing judgement,” the spokesman said.