SENATOR Timmy Dooley has revealed he discussed a direct threat made against him with a Garda detective following a disturbing phone call. This was one of the acts of “intimidation” cited by the Clare Fianna Fáil general election candidate following extensive damage caused to his election billboards and posters.
“I have had threats issued to me over the years,” he said.
“I got mass cards sent to me for the repose of my soul five or six years ago, which I saw as intimidatory. Windows were broken in my office on a number of occasions. I took it on the chin because it could be a waste of Garda time because there was little they could do.”
On one occasion, when a person phoned Senator Dooley and made a direct threat about where he lived, he spoke to a Garda detective, who has since passed away, and advised the Fianna Fáil public representative to keep it under observation to see if there is any further movement on it.
Senator Dooley described the recent vandalism of his billboard General Election posters as “sinister” considering the vandals had to go to some considerable effort to damage the one erected at a height near Tulla.
It is understood his posters were spray painted on shortly after the starting date for the erection of election material in public places.
“This is an attempt to silence or intimidate you by defacing a poster and destroying it. You are not going to spend money again on redoing it. It is intimidation, there is no other way it can be looked it,” he said.
“The language that was put on the billboard would suggest it wasn’t kids. One word on the billboard in Corofin was an abbrivation for Tiocfaidh Ár Lá. Even half arsed republican supporters would not be using this abbreviation.
“My eyes were Xed out on one of the eight by fours.
“They also used a very contemporary derogatory term on the billboard towards a person of colour, which is sometimes used by anti-migrants in far right groups. The term Éire is used by some of the fringe Republican groups that might have been part of Sinn Féin previously but aren’t now. I am not casting any aspersion there.
“I don’t think that was young lads messing around with a spray can, doing it for a dare or acting the idiot.
“The election posters were up that long. It was a deliberate attack. Some of it is intimidation in the hope that you would take down your posters to push people. This is not the first time we have seen this.
“Sometimes you get acts of vandalism, I understand that. Teenagers or young lads coming home from the pub write something silly on a poster or deface it by putting a beard on you.”
East Clare correspondent, Dan Danaher is a journalism graduate of Rathmines and UL. He has won numerous awards for special investigations on health, justice, environment, and reports on news, agriculture, disability, mental health and community.