Taoiseach 'jostled' and garda 'hit' during confrontation with Enoch Burke's family in Mayo

'It takes an awful lot to disrupt my energy,' Simon Harris said, while separately hitting out at the 'thinly-veiled thuggery' and 'toxicity' of some disruptive groups around Ireland 

Some members of Enoch Burke's family followed Taoiseach Simon Harris and European Parliament candidate Maria Walsh shouting at them as they visited businesses and met locals in Castlebar Co Mayo on Sunday. Picture: Brian Lawless

The Taoiseach has said it will take “an awful lot” to disrupt his energy after he was confronted by members of the Burke family while canvassing in Mayo.

Simon Harris has also hit out at a “thinly-veiled thuggery” and “toxicity” coming from a small number of people around the country, who he said are not interested in democratic protest.

While out canvassing in Castlebar, Mr Harris was interrupted by the family of teacher Enoch Burke who remains in prison for contempt of court. 

The group followed the Taoiseach and European candidate Maria Walsh, shouting at them as they visited businesses and met locals.

Taoiseach Simon Harris greeting Marty Horkan, the father of Detective Garda Colm Horkan, at the dedication on Sunday of the new facilities at Charlestown Sarsfields GAA Club in Co Mayo in honour of the murdered garda. See link below. Picture: Conor McKeown

Asked about the disruption, Mr Harris said: “We live in a country where the courts and the Government are separate and people need to abide by the rules of our court — that’s a fundamental tenet of democracy, and it would be entirely inappropriate for me as Taoiseach to comment on a decision made in the court.

“Anybody who expects the Taoiseach to do that clearly doesn’t understand how the Constitution of Ireland works.”

He added: “Protest has an important role to play in any democracy. 

I’ve been protested at and I have been on protests during my political career. But there’s a difference between protest and an attempt to significantly disrupt. 

"I think, as people know about me, it takes an awful lot to disrupt my energy.”

Later on Sunday, a spokesperson for the Taoiseach said: 

“What happened in Mayo today was not protest. It was thuggery. The Taoiseach would like to thank An Garda Síochána for their professionalism. 

A member of An Garda Síochána was hit during the scenes and the Taoiseach was pushed and jostled by a small number of people.

The spokesperson added that the incidents were not representative of what has been a really healthy canvass for the majority of politicians across the country as people in Ireland are decent and law abiding.

“Although it was a very small number of people, today’s behaviour cannot be accepted and should never be normalised and a full Garda investigation should be carried out.

“The people of Mayo were warm and welcoming today and the Taoiseach really enjoyed meeting so many people across much of the county and thanks them for their time.”

Mr Harris also dismissed a separate small group who had protested as he arrived at the Co Mayo town, stating that it “came from people engaged in thinly-veiled thuggery, that’s absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with migration policy. We should never conflate the two.”

He said the Government will be using “all levers” at its disposal to ensure those who arrive here seeking refuge are processed quickly and the Coalition is also working to secure accommodation for asylum seekers.

He added that Irish people are “fundamentally decent” and want to ensure that the system of processing migrants is based around compassion and common sense.

I do think there’s a toxicity in politics and public life that is been fuelled by a small number of people. I don’t think it should be ignored. I think it should be called out. 

"It’s why I bristle when people talk about protest because some things are protest and some things are thuggery and I understand the difference.”

But he stressed that this is a “very small element” and expects the laws of the land to be upheld when it comes to incidents where either political candidates or journalists are abused.

“I think any intimidation tactics against journalists is pretty despicable. We live in a country where we have a free, robust media. I value it and and I think people value it,” the Taoiseach said.

Reacting to the latest opinion poll which puts both Fine Gael and Sinn Féin on 22%, Mr Harris said he would be encouraging members of his party to continue to canvass in the coming days and only focus on Friday’s election.

But when asked about the slide in support for Mary Lou McDonald’s party, the Taoiseach said Sinn Féin only has “one gear” and that is “shout and roar”, which he said will not fix any of the challenges facing the country.