A County Galway man has been jailed for threatening Galway West politicians Hildegarde Naughton and Seán Kyne.
49-year-old Daragh O'Flaherty of New Estate, Clarinbridge has been sentenced to four months in prison after being found guilty of threatening the Fine Gael politicians in 2024.
Mr O'Flaherty, who represented himself throughout the proceedings, had denied the charges at Galway District Court.
Daragh O’Flaherty was charged with distributing or publishing threatening or grossly offensive communications, with intent to cause harm, on dates in January 2024.
Judge Patricia Cronin imposed a four-month sentence in relation to each of the charges, to run concurrently.
She described this as an "appropriate and proportionate" punishment, given the seriousness of the charges.
She said while there had been no victim statements presented, the court was in no doubt about the "incredible impact" the crimes had on both public representatives.
Judge Cronin noted the accused had 34 previous convictions and had made no expression of remorse.
O’Flaherty intends to appeal the sentence to the Circuit Court.
In the meantime, Judge Cronin imposed a number of bail conditions.
Until they are met, he has been taken into custody.
