Taoiseach slams vandalism of constituency office as 'undemocratic' after red paint smeared on walls
GARDAÍ ARE INVESTIGATING the third graffiti attack on the constituency office of the Taoiseach Micheál Martin – this time by an apparent pro-Palestinian activist.
The incident overnight on Evergreen Street near Turner's Cross in Cork city saw red paint daubed on the building and a sign remonstrating about how the Government is handling the Palestinian genocide pinned to the door.
A spokesperson for the Taoiseach confirmed the incident and said the attack on the constituency office was 'un-democratic'.
'I can confirm there was an act of vandalism on the constituency office last night, this is the third such attack.
'Personal threats have also previously been sent to the office, warning the Taoiseach it will be made impossible for him to navigate in public spaces.
'This is a working office with constituency staff acting on a daily basis to support the community on various issues. Those responsible for these criminal acts and intimidatory and abusive threats are fundamentally anti-democratic.
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'We believe the vast majority of people who are appalled by the situation in Gaza would have nothing to do with such actions,' the spokesperson said.
A statement has been requested from An Garda Síochána.
Security has been stepped up for politicians in the last year as threats from various protest groups and individuals increased. This is a standard provision for a number of Cabinet members.
Gardaí in Cork provide a security post on the Taoiseach's home and a close protection detail is provided to him by national unit detectives.
An armed garda post has been put on the house of Tánaiste Simon Harris in Wicklow amid threats to him and his family from Far Right protestors.
A number of other politicians have been subject to threats, intimidation and vandalism attacks by protestors from a disparate and wide ranging set of motivations.
Garda sources said investigators believe the attack on the Taoiseach's constituency office is from Far Left protestors. Their investigation will focus on CCTV and house to house enquiries and any online traffic or threats in recent days.
With additional reporting from Conor O'Carroll.
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Credit: Courtesy of Ben Blackall/Netflix 15 David Bartlam was 14 and obsessed with a Coronation Street serial killer when he murdered mum Jacqueline with a claw hammer Credit: Caters News Agency He believes that Britain's most notorious child killers Mary Bell and Jamie Bulger murderer Jon Venables are natural psychopaths, showing no remorse or guilt for their savagery. Bell was just 10 when she strangled Martin Brown, four, and three-year-old Brian Howe to death before mutilating them in Scotswood, Newcastle in 1968. Venables was the same age as Bell when he and The pair served eight years in secure children's units and were given lifelong anonymity in 2001. But Venables has re-offended four times. He has twice been jailed for possession of child abuse images and also received cautions for affray and possession of cocaine. Harding says: 'There was sadism involved in these cases and if we want an indication of what children can be capable of, there we have it. 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Tragic Brianna was stabbed 28 times with a hunting knife and the cruel pair both . Jenkinson, who was obssessed with serial killers and knives, was caged for a minimum of 22 years and Ratcliffe, a loner but model student before the killing, for a minimum of 20 years. Kim Edwards and Lucas Markham Teen sweethearts Edward and Markham, both aged 14 at the time, stabbed Kim's mum Elizabeth Edwards, 49, and her younger sister Katie, 13, as they slept. The pair were dubbed the ' Twilight Killers ' after it emerged they ate tea cakes and ice cream and watched the vampire movie after the murders. Markham became one of the youngest ever double murderers after admitting two counts of murder at Nottingham Crown Court. Edwards admitted manslaughter but denied murdering the church-going dinner lady and her daughter due to her mental condition. But the court heard she was the "driver" behind a "cold and brutal" plot to kill Elizabeth and Katie. 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Will Cornick Schoolboy Will murdered his teacher Ann Maguire, 61, stabbing her seven times as she taught a class at Corpus Christi Catholic College in Leeds when he was 15. After stabbing the teacher to death, he callously boasted: 'I couldn't give a s***' . Cornick said he had a 'sense of pride' after the classroom murder, and added: 'Everything I've done is fine and dandy.' He won't be eligible for parole before 2034. Daniel Bartlam Daniel Bartlam was just 14 when he beat his mum to death in a hammer attack copied from Coronation Street. The teen repeatedly battered Jacqueline's face and head before setting her body alight. Schoolboy Bartlam was obsessed with TV soap murder plots and grisly horror movies. Sharon Carr Carr was aged just 12 when she stabbed 18-year-old hairdresser Katie Rackliff 32 times. The murder went unsolved for several years, as cops were looking for an adult assailant rather than a child. Some of the knife thrusts went clean through Katie's body and diaries seized by police were full of sickening boasts about the murder. Carr was dubbed the "devils daughter" for her lack of remorse in the attack. She was convicted of the murder in 1997 and handed a sentence of at least 12 years. Her last bid for freedom in 2023 was turned down because she was "still violent". Society 'too soft' Harding says that society is often too soft on kids who offend. He says: 'I once went to see a kid about 14 who had murdered another child by cornering him with a gang. 'The kid was drinking milkshake and, in a case of mistaken identity, the offender stabbed him in the heart with a flick knife. 'The CCTV footage was so clear that his co-defendants weren't charged as they tried to pull the perpetrator back from his victim. 'He was found guilty of murder and when I went to assess him, for the first time in his life he had started reading… crime novels, which probably weren't the best, but he was reading at least. 'There was a handwritten note to me from the youth offending service, asking me to take trauma into account. 'When I looked at the case, this teenager's violence had been escalating yet he was put back into the community each time. 'Before the murder he had a section 18 offence for wounding. Childhood is complex enough without having boundaries. We need to realise there's a consequence to our behaviours Dr Duncan Harding 'He told me that, even with his GPS police tag on, he would still deal drugs in the stairwell of his council estate. 'If he had gone back into his original environment, back into his gang, he wouldn't get any help. 'What he would actually benefit from was a period in custody, and that's why we have to sometimes lock kids up. 'There is some argument that the age of criminal responsibility should be moved from 10 to 12, but I'd urge people to consider what would have happened in cases like Jamie Bulger if this is moved? 'We have to have a starting point that children are good but, in order for that to be true, we have to also face the fact that some kids can, maybe through no fault of their own, be sadistic and want to hurt other children. 'I have gone into every case with neutrality but the truth is I've come across situations where we've just got to be realistic with what we're faced with.' The Criminal Mind: From Broadmoor to the Old Bailey. True Stories from a Forensic Psychiatrist's Handbook by Dr Duncan Harding is published by Penguin Michael Joseph, paperback £10.99. 15 Dr Duncan Harding's book is out now
