Tánaiste admits it was 'hard to turn up to work' amid sustained threats against his family

'I think most people in this country are just great....It's when people cross that line and start to threaten your young children and your family, that's just not acceptable'

Simon Harris: 'It was tough to turn up. If someone's threatened your wife, threatened your children ... it's hard to turn up to work the next day.' Photo: Moya Nolan

Tánaiste Simon Harris has admitted it was “hard to turn up to work” following a series of sustained threats of violence against his family.

On Thursday, a Dublin mother received a six-month prison sentence for sending social media messages to the Tánaiste, branding him a “murderer” and saying: “I hope somebody does something to your family”.

Sandra Barry, aged 40, of Tor an Rí, Balgaddy, Lucan, Co Dublin, pleaded guilty to charges stating that she sent “a threatening or grossly offensive communication to Simon Harris with intent to cause harm” on August 30, 2025.

In an interview with the Irish Examiner, after the verdict was delivered, Mr Harris said the threats have been difficult for him and his family to cope with.

“We went through a period of sustained threats, and I'm glad that these issues are taken seriously by the gardaí, glad they're taken seriously by the courts.

“I think the question is, what's going on when somebody presses send? The consequences of those actions are real and do create dangers.” 

In September, at the Fine Gael think-in, Mr Harris admitted he had to “dig pretty deep” to attend the event and refused to speculate on his political future.

Reflecting on that now, he said: 

It was tough to turn up. If someone's threatened your wife, threatened your children ... it's hard to turn up to work the next day. 

"But I did dig deep. I did turn up. I got great support from colleagues, great support from friends, great support from family, and tried to get on with the job.” 

In a victim impact statement to the court on Thursday, Mr Harris said he had received messages stating that “someone wants to harm your child” that “vividly suggested what should happen to them”.

Mr Harris regularly posts pictures of his two young children, Saoirse, 6, and Cillian, 4. When asked if he would reconsider posting family snaps, the Tánaiste said he would not.

Simon Harris: 'I think the question is, what's going on when somebody presses send? The consequences of those actions are real and do create dangers.' Photo: Moya Nolan

“The reality is, I expect, myself, my family, my children, to be safe in our country. I expect everybody's family to be safe in their country,” he said.

“I think most people in this country are just great. They can agree with you, they can disagree with you, but we live in a great country.

“It's when people cross that line and start to threaten physical and other harms on your young children and your family, that's just not acceptable.

"I want to live my life the way that you'd want to live your life and expect the laws of the country to protect you.”