Gardaí appeal for witnesses to incident where excrement was thrown at politicians

A man approached Fine Gael TD Ciarán Cannon and junior minister Anne Rabbitte, throwing cow excrement at them from a ziplock bag. Picture: Moya Nolan

Gardaí in Galway are seeking information from those who were present at a meeting in Gort earlier this month where a bag of excrement was allegedly thrown at two politicians.

On January 4, a meeting was held at Sullivan’s Hotel in Gort to discuss the decision by An Bord Pleanála to allow a major biogas plant to be located on the edge of the town.

At the meeting, a man approached Fine Gael TD Ciarán Cannon with a ziplock bag of cow manure and threw it at him, and then approached junior minister Anne Rabbitte with another small bag of excrement and threw it at her.

In a statement released today, a garda spokesperson said: "Gardaí are continuing to investigate all the circumstances around a public order incident that occurred during a public meeting at a hotel in Gort, Co Galway on Wednesday, January 4, 2023.

"Gardaí are appealing to any person who was at this meeting and who has not already spoken to Gardaí, to come forward. Any other person who may have any other information in relation this incident should also make contact with Gardaí."

Gardaí can be contacted at Gort Garda Station  at: 091 636 4000, or the Garda Confidential Line on: 1800 666 111.

"No arrests have been made at this time. Investigations are ongoing," it was added.