A 49-year-old man has been sentenced to four months in prison after being found guilty of threatening two Fine Gael TDs in 2024.
Daragh O’Flaherty – of New Estate, Clarinbridge, Co Galway – had denied the charges.
Today’s sentencing comes almost two years after the case first began, at Galway District Court.
O’Flaherty was charged with distributing or publishing threatening or grossly offensive communications, with intent to cause harm, on dates in January 2024.
During the course of the proceedings, the now Minister for Education Hildegarde Naughton told the court that she was “frightened” for her personal safety and had to reassess her movements after she was subjected to threats online.
Seán Kyne said he was concerned for his safety after the threats
Her constituency colleague, Seán Kyne, then a councillor, gave evidence that he had been scrolling through Twitter/ X in early January 2024, when he came across one of the videos in question.
“I took it as a threat and that I would need six stitches after an attack or an assault,” said Mr Kyne, before outlining how he was also concerned for the safety of his family and his staff.
The court was shown the video in which the accused stated if it was six stitches for him, then it is six stitches for a number of named Galway politicians, including Ms Naughton and Mr Kyne.
The court also viewed another video, posted online on 9 January 2024, in which the accused said he was coming to Galway and that number of politicians, including Ms Naughton and Mr Kyne, were “going to need the police, you’re going to need the ambulance and you are probably going to need the fire brigade”.
When the case came back before Judge Patricia Cronin, the court heard there were no victim impact statements to be read into the record.
Mr O’Flaherty, who represented himself throughout the proceedings, told Judge Cronin that he had made claims regarding excess mortality of prisoners in the Irish prison system over the course of the trial, which he said had tripled since the Covid-19 vaccine rollout.
Daragh O’Flaherty had 34 previous convictions
He said he had misplaced documents secured under the Freedom of Information Act to confirm this, but had not misplaced his obligation to provide such evidence to the court.
“I feel the evidence I need to appeal my case is inside any prison in Ireland,” he said, before adding that he felt “obliged to go to prison and speak to prisoners” who had been denied the vindication of their bodily integrity, as a result of what he described as, a forced vaccination programme.
He went on to say that he had decided the cost to him in going to jail “was bearable for the cost imposed by people who have harmed me, my family and my nation”.
After adjourning to consider her verdict, Judge Cronin imposed a four-month sentence in relation to each of the charges, to run concurrently.
She described this as an “appropriate and proportionate” punishment, given the seriousness of the charges.
She said while there had been no victim statements presented, the court was in no doubt about the “incredible impact” the crimes had on both public representatives.
Judge Cronin noted the accused had 34 previous convictions and had made no expression of remorse.
O’Flaherty said he could not enter into a bond that would have led to the suspension of the final two months of the sentence, for a period of two years.
He intends to appeal the sentence to the Circuit Court.
In the meantime, Judge Cronin imposed a number of bail conditions, including that the accused have no contact with Minister Naughton or Mr Kyne; that he stay away from their homes and constituency offices; be of good character; refrain from posting any threatening content online or on social media channels; sign on weekly at a garda station and be contactable at all times on a mobile phone.
Those conditions will be activated pending payment of a €500 cash lodgement, or independent surety in lieu of this, on behalf of the accused.
Until such time, he has been taken into custody.
