Gardaí investigating after Anne Rabbitte and colleague attacked with 'bag of sh*t'
On Twitter, she posted a message which said: “Attended a meeting tonight and a bag of sh.t thrown a (sic) me and my government colleague.” Picture: Moya Nolan
Junior Minister Anne Rabbitte said she "feared for her safety" after a bag of cow excrement was thrown at her at a public meeting on Wednesday night.
Ms Rabbitte and Fine Gael TD Ciarán Cannon were both subjected to the attack in Gort, Galway.
Speaking about the incident, Ms Rabbitte says she feared for her safety and that her legs were “literally taken right from under me”.
The meeting was not stopped, and the man who carried out the attack was not removed following the incident.
Ms Rabbitte reported the incident to gardaí who say they are “investigating all the circumstances” relating to the incident.
Speaking to the , Ms Rabbitte says the incident left her fearing for her safety.
“I did [fear for her safety] when I was leaving the room that night,” she said.
“I wasn’t able to speak but later I did tweet because I wanted to ventilate how I felt about what went on,” she added.
On Twitter, she posted a message which said: “Attended a meeting tonight and a bag of sh.t thrown a (sic) me and my government colleague.”
Mr Cannon also took to social media following the incident, saying that an "idiot" got excrement to put into two bags throwing one at himself and the other at Ms Rabbitte adding it is yet unknown whether the faeces was human or animal.
"All part of the job you might say, but I can understand why fewer people want this job," he said.
In a statement to the , gardaí confirmed they are investigating "all the circumstances" surrounding the incident.
Gardaí said they are currently looking into what exactly happened when the two politicians had the excrement thrown at them at public meeting in Gort, Co Galway.
"An Garda Síochána is investigating all the circumstances relating to an incident that occurred at a public meeting in Gort, Co Galway yesterday evening, Wednesday 4 January, 2023.".
Politicians from across the political spectrum rallied around the Galway East TD with Tánaiste Micheál Martin saying the incident was “totally unacceptable”.
Mr Martin spoke to Ms Rabbitte this morning to offer his support.
He said: “This kind of behaviour towards public representatives is totally unacceptable. One of the strengths of Irish democracy is the ease of access to our public representatives.”
He said people have a right to protest and argue their points, but these kinds of unacceptable actions damage civil society and democratic discourse.
Sinn Féin’s Kathleen Funchion saying she was “so sorry to hear this, this is so wrong”.
Green Party senator and minister of state Pippa Hackett said she hoped the perpetrators would be caught and prosecuted.
“Solidarity with my government colleague Anne Rabbitte, who was doing her job, as she does every day with compassion and commitment. What a disgusting thing to do. We can’t allow anybody be treated like this — I hope the perpetrator is identified and prosecuted,” said Ms Hackett.
Cork South West TD Christopher O’Sullivan described the attack as “outrageous” while Fianna Fáil senator Lorraine Clifford Lee called for the “assault” to be reported to the authorities.
“Oh my god, that is shocking. I hope this assault has been reported to An Garda. Nobody should have to put up with this. Thinking of you both,” said Ms Clifford Lee.
Dublin South West Fianna Fáil TD John Lahart said on Twitter that the attack was “disgusting. Unacceptable. I’m speechless”.
Fine Gael Dublin Rathdown TD Neale Richmond described the incident as “awful”.
Green Party senator Pauline O’Reilly said the attack should be condemned right across the political spectrum.
“The way that Anne Rabbitte has been treated this evening should be called out by everyone, regardless of politics. I know Anne to be a decent and fair politician, and this should not be tolerated in our society,” said Ms O’Reilly.
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