A man who grabbed Green Party leader Roderic O’Gorman by the shoulders and verbally abused him with a homophobic slur during an election canvass in Dublin has been spared jail.
The incident on November 2nd last year occurred when the then Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth went door-to-door around the Erris Square, Waterville area of Blanchardstown.
Karl Ronan (45) of Erris Square, previously pleaded guilty to assaulting Mr O’Gorman, to threatening and abusive behaviour, and to damaging his clipboard.
Ronan, a salesman and father-of-two, appeared again at Blanchardstown District Court on Tuesday.
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Judge David McHugh noted a Probation Service assessment handed into the court was positive.
He ordered Ronan to carry out 200 hours of community service instead of a four-month prison sentence.
At an earlier hearing, the judge noted Ronan had emailed an apology that Mr O’Gorman accepted.
The court heard Ronan “lost control”, pushed the TD off his property and threw his clipboard, which broke off a wall.
Judge McHugh described his actions as “appalling”, “deliberate” and “homophobic, it would appear”.
In evidence, Garda Joseph Rogers said Mr O’Gorman was canvassing on the afternoon of November 2nd, 2024..
He was talking to the defendant outside his home, but Ronan became aggressive, grabbed his clipboard. Ronan told the TD to leave and pushed him off his property. Mr O’Gorman’s Garda protection officer intervened and led him away.
However, Ronan followed while recording them on his phone and saying: “Don’t come back”.
The court heard he told Mr O’Gorman: “You have an old woman minding you, you big fairy”.
Ronan has two previous convictions for minor road traffic offences.
His solicitor, Simon Fleming, told the court it was “a shameful act” and “an affront to the whole democratic process”. However, he stressed Ronan did not have far-right political views.
Mr Fleming said his client lost his business due to the Covid pandemic.
The court heard Ronan donated €500 in Mr O’Gorman’s name to St Francis Hospice.
The politician’s victim impact statement was not read out during the hearing, but the defence solicitor said the politician was “a very compassionate and forgiving” person who had accepted Ronan’s apology.
The solicitor said his client “lost control”, “made a fool of himself” and would have to deal with the publicity surrounding the case.
Judge McHugh said the aggravating factor was that this was an assault on an individual rendering a public service. However, he noted Ronan’s early guilty plea, apology and that he had cooperated with gardaí.
