Convicted robber is suspect behind chilling threat to kill Mary Lou McDonald and Garda Commissioner
Exclusive - This paper has learned that the man in his late 20s, who is from the West Dublin area, has been identified as the man wearing a homemade balaclava and threatening to shoot Ms McDonald in a disturbing video circulating online.
A convicted robber is the suspect behind a chilling threat to kill Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald and the Garda Commissioner.
This paper has learned that the man in his late 20s, who is from the West Dublin area, has been identified as the man wearing a homemade balaclava and threatening to shoot Ms McDonald in a disturbing video circulating online.
The man is well known to gardai but is considered to primarily be a petty thief who has only been sentenced before the Circuit Court on one matter. It is understood he was previously convicted a number of years ago for robbing a shop of a significant sum of money.
The man is also currently on bail in relation to an alleged theft related incident.
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Sources say it has not taken gardai long to identify the man, who clearly shows his face in other videos that have now since been deleted off social media.
The thug filmed himself in a shocking video which has since been widely shared online - and sparked Deputy McDonald to make a formal complaint to gardai on Wednesday. In the video he pledges his support for the Coolock protests - before he goes on to make the threats, urging people to “take that Drew Harris p***k as well, take his whole throat, lads, take Drew Harris’s throat off him".
“F**k Drew Harris, f**k the lot of them in that fuckin’ Dáil, f**ck everyone, f**k everyone. Think about your f**kin’ self. Drew Harris, he be getting shot, he be getting’ f**kin’ blasted, I swear to God on that, he be getting shot before the end of the year. And see that Mary Lou? I’ll shoot her meself, for free. I’ll do her for free, I will, yeah?”
Gardai have since confirmed an investigation into the video.
Taking to social media, Mary Lou McDonald spoke of her serious concern about the threat.
“Last night a threat to kill me was issued online. The individual said he would shoot me dead. This represents an escalation of targeted online abuse directed at me over the last year. It is totally unacceptable. I have reported this to An Garda Síochána.
“Ironically, this threat was made while I was hosting a discussion on the need for zero tolerance when it comes to violence against women and girls,” she said.
In a subsequent interview on RTÉ radio’s News at One, Ms McDonald said the threat had been “blatant and blunt.” It represented “an escalation on what has been a really relentless campaign over the last 12 months or so of abuse of a misogynistic, sometimes a racist nature, really piled on against me in a very concentrated and coordinated way.
“I'm all for freedom of expression. I do not believe in censorship. I am also not somebody who is touchy or sensitive about criticism and commentary that comes with being a public figure, but I do not accept, and I will not accept threats against my life, or anybody else's. It is utterly unacceptable. And it is sinister. And I have reported the matter to An Garda Síochána. I expect them to deal with it appropriately,” she said.
The threat did not relate to any specific issue, she said, but said it was part of a trend over the past year from a “very organised section of people online to have a run at Sinn Féin and at me in particular.
“I think the objective of the exercise has been to cast doubt or alienate or disrupt the relationship between myself and Sinn Féin and those that would support us, rely on us to represent them and it's been pretty relentless. If you visit any of my social media platforms you would see that.
"But last night, that escalated to a direct threat to take my life. And I'm shocked by this, to be honest with you. And as I say, I've placed it now in the hands of An Garda Síochána. The same individual made a threat against a senior member of An Garda this year, that to me, is completely unacceptable. And I expect that that matter will be dealt with as well.”
Ms McDonald's comments come after former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar revealed there were times when he was fearful for his own safety. Speaking after this paper exclusively revealed this week that there was a sinister and very real threat to Mr Varadkar’s life back in 2022, the former Taoiseach said: “On the night of the Dublin riots, I was advised not to go home and I didn’t. I stayed somewhere else. But I never let that bother me.
“One thing I would have asked the gardaí was not to advise me or give me too much information about security threats unless I really needed to know for some reason. I didn’t want to be distracted by potential security threats or always looking over my shoulder, so I asked that they not give me detailed briefings unless there was some particular reason to do so, and I think that’s probably the right decision.
“I think I was very fortunate that I was able to lead a relatively normal life during my time as taoiseach and in politics. Now I want to lead a very normal life, and I’m kind of grateful for that.
“I’ve spoken to people who are heads of government in other countries, or people who are senior politicians in other countries, and some of them can’t even go to a restaurant because they have to shut down the whole restaurant or the block. Some of them can’t go to the shops, can’t go to the cinema and really do live in a security bubble.
“I’m really grateful that wasn’t the case for me, and largely isn’t the case for in Ireland yet, like of course there are security threats to politicians, but it’s still a relatively safe country.”
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