Latest news with #Cloherty
The Journal
8 hours ago
- Politics
- The Journal
Man spared trial after apologising to Paul Murphy for threatening to 'slit' his wife's throat
A MAN WHO threatened Paul Murphy TD with slitting his wife's throat has been spared trial and jail after apologising and citing a psychotic episode. Dublin District Court had sought fitness-to-plead psychiatric reports on the accused, and today, 42-year-old Joseph Cloherty's non-jury hearing was expected to go ahead. Cloherty, of no fixed address, had earlier indicated that he would contest the charge, requiring Murphy to come to court and testify. However, Judge John Hughes heard that the prosecution was not proceeding and applying to withdraw the case. Judge Hughes noted that this followed a letter being sent by Cloherty to the Dublin South-West TD, apologising to both him and his wife, councillor Jessica Spear, and explaining the incident happened when he was going through a psychotic episode. The apology was acceptable to the TD, who was not required to give evidence and left the court as Judge Hughes struck out the proceedings. Defence solicitor Emer O'Sullivan also furnished a medical report on her client, who pleaded guilty to unrelated public order offences, resulting in a one-month suspended sentence. Cloherty had nine prior convictions, mainly public order and motoring offences. The threatening encounter with the politician occurred after the politician canvassed about abortion laws in Tallaght on 23 May, 2023. Cloherty faced a charge under section 5 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act. Cloherty was accused of having, without a lawful excuse, made a threat to Paul Murphy, intending him to believe it would be carried out that he would kill or cause serious harm to Jessica Spear. Earlier, the court heard that Cloherty had been hospitalised involuntarily. A preliminary hearing in January was told that he denied the charge that he threatened the politician to his face that his wife would be seriously harmed. Spear is a People Before Profit councillor for Tallaght Central. Advertisement The Director of Public Prosecutions directed summary disposal of the case at the District Court level. Outlining the evidence, Garda Elaine Markham had said that the TD had set up a stall at Belgard Square. He was giving out leaflets about a pro-abortion bill when the accused allegedly 'walked up to Paul Murphy and threatened to slit his wife's throat'. Gardai took statements from her and the TD. 'That's a lie,' Cloherty had told the court after it heard a summary of the evidence. Cloherty had said 'they were talking about killing babies'. On conviction, the threat could have led to a fine and a 12-month sentence. Today, Garda Sergeant Nigel Petrie gave evidence on the two remaining unconnected offences, the use of threatening, abusive, insulting behaviour in public and resisting arrest on 9 January. Sergeant Petrie said he spoke to Cloherty near the Royal Canal Bank in Dublin and was about to arrest him over a warrant. Cloherty angrily shouted: 'You have now entered the arena; you don't know what you've just done.' He resisted gardai handcuffing or putting him into a patrol car, but the sergeant volunteered that it ranked at two or three out of ten in terms of seriousness. He stressed that Cloherty subsequently sought him out to apologise, adding that he is now a very different man from the agitated person he met on the date of the arrest. O'Sullivan, pleading for leniency, said Cloherty was in homeless accommodation but goes to his mother's house every day. She and Cloherty's brother-in-law came to court, and the solicitor emphasised that he had family support and was now on antipsychotic medication. Noting his apology, medical report and mitigation plea, Judge Hughes suspended the one-month term on condition he does not re-offend for two years, stays off cocaine and cannabis, and continues to attend appointments with a mental health professional and follow their directions.
Irish Examiner
10 hours ago
- Politics
- Irish Examiner
Case withdrawn against man who threatened to slit throat of TD Paul Murphy's partner
A man who threatened People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy with slitting his wife's throat has been spared trial and jail after apologising and citing a psychotic episode. Dublin District Court had sought fitness-to-plead psychiatric reports on the accused, and on Thursday, 42-year-old Joseph Cloherty's non-jury hearing was expected to go ahead. Mr Cloherty, of no fixed address, had earlier indicated he would contest the charge, requiring Mr Murphy to come to court and testify. However, Judge John Hughes heard the prosecution was not proceeding and applying to withdraw the case. Judge Hughes noted this followed a letter being sent by Mr Cloherty to the Dublin South-West TD, apologising to both him and his wife, councillor Jessica Spear, and explaining the incident happened when he was going through a psychotic episode. The apology was acceptable to the TD, who was not required to give evidence and left the court as Judge Hughes struck out the proceedings. TD Paul Murphy leaving Dublin District Court on Thursday after the judge struck out proceedings. Defence solicitor Emer O'Sullivan also furnished a medical report on her client, who pleaded guilty to unrelated public order offences, resulting in a one-month suspended sentence. Mr Cloherty had nine previous convictions, mainly public order and motoring offences. The threatening encounter with the politician occurred after the politician canvassed about abortion laws in Tallaght on May 23, 2023. Mr Cloherty faced a charge under section 5 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act. Mr Cloherty was accused of having, without a lawful excuse, made a threat to Paul Murphy, intending him to believe it would be carried out, that he would kill or cause serious harm to Jessica Spear. Noting his apology, medical report and mitigation plea, Judge Hughes suspended the one-month term on condition he does not re-offend for two years, stays off cocaine and cannabis, and continues to attend appointments with a mental health professional and follow their directions.
Sunday World
10 hours ago
- Sunday World
Man who threatened TD Paul Murphy's wife is spared trial after apologising
Mr Cloherty, of no fixed address, had earlier indicated that he would contest the charge, requiring Murphy to come to court and testify. A man who threatened Paul Murphy TD with slitting his wife's throat has been spared trial and jail after apologising and citing a psychotic episode. Dublin District Court had sought fitness-to-plead psychiatric reports on the accused, and today, 42-year-old Joseph Cloherty's non-jury hearing was expected to go ahead. Mr Cloherty, of no fixed address, had earlier indicated that he would contest the charge, requiring Murphy to come to court and testify. However, Judge John Hughes heard that the prosecution was not proceeding and applying to withdraw the case. Judge Hughes noted that this followed a letter being sent by Cloherty to the Dublin South-West TD, apologising to both him and his wife, councillor Jessica Spear, and explaining the incident happened when he was going through a psychotic episode. The apology was acceptable to the TD, who was not required to give evidence and left the court as Judge Hughes struck out the proceedings. Joseph Cloherty News in 90 Seconds - June 19th Defence solicitor Emer O'Sullivan also furnished a medical report on her client, who pleaded guilty to unrelated public order offences, resulting in a one-month suspended sentence. Cloherty had nine prior convictions, mainly public order and motoring offences. The threatening encounter with the politician occurred after the politician canvassed about abortion laws in Tallaght on May 23, 2023. Cloherty faced a charge under section 5 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act. Read more Euromillions winner makes contact after buying €250m ticket in Cork shop Mr Cloherty was accused of having, without a lawful excuse, made a threat to Paul Murphy, intending him to believe it would be carried out that he would kill or cause serious harm to Jessica Spear. Earlier, the court heard that Mr Cloherty had been hospitalised involuntarily. A preliminary hearing in January was told that he denied the charge that he threatened the politician to his face that his wife would be seriously harmed. Ms Spear is a People Before Profit councillor for Tallaght Central. The Director of Public Prosecutions directed summary disposal of the case at the District Court level. Outlining the evidence, Garda Elaine Markham had said that the TD had set up a stall at Belgard Square. He was giving out leaflets about a pro-abortion bill when the accused allegedly "walked up to Paul Murphy and threatened to slit his wife's throat". Gardai took statements from her and the TD. "That's a lie," Mr Cloherty had told the court after it heard a summary of the evidence. Mr Cloherty had said, "They were talking about killing babies." On conviction, the threat could have led to a fine and a 12-month sentence. Today, Garda Sergeant Nigel Petrie gave evidence on the two remaining unconnected offences, the use of threatening, abusive, insulting behaviour in public and resisting arrest on January 9. Sergeant Petrie said he spoke to Cloherty near the Royal Canal Bank in Dublin and was about to arrest him over a warrant. Cloherty angrily shouted, "You have now entered the arena; you don't know what you've just done". He resisted gardai handcuffing or putting him into a patrol car, but the sergeant volunteered that it ranked at two or three out of ten in terms of seriousness. He stressed that Cloherty subsequently sought him out to apologise, adding that he is now a very different man from the agitated person he met on the date of the arrest. Ms O'Sullivan, pleading for leniency, said Cloherty was in homeless accommodation but goes to his mother's house every day. She and Cloherty's brother-in-law came to court, and the solicitor emphasised that he had family support and was now on antipsychotic medication. Noting his apology, medical report and mitigation plea, Judge Hughes suspended the one-month term on condition he does not re-offend for two years, stays off cocaine and cannabis, and continues to attend appointments with a mental health professional and follow their directions.
RTÉ News
11 hours ago
- Politics
- RTÉ News
Man apologises for threating TD Paul Murphy's wife
A man who threatened Dublin South-West TD Paul Murphy with slitting his wife's throat has been spared trial after apologising and citing a psychotic episode. Dublin District Court had sought fitness-to-plead psychiatric reports on 42-year-old Joseph Cloherty and his non-jury hearing was expected to go ahead today. Cloherty, of no fixed address, had earlier indicated that he would contest the charge, requiring Deputy Murphy to come to court and testify. However, Judge John Hughes was told that the prosecution was not proceeding and applying to withdraw the case. The judge noted that this followed a letter from Cloherty to Mr Murphy, apologising to both him and his wife, Councillor Jessica Spear, and explaining that the incident happened when he was going through a psychotic episode. The apology was acceptable to the TD, who was not required to give evidence and left the court as Judge Hughes struck out the proceedings. Defence solicitor Emer O'Sullivan also furnished a medical report on her client, who pleaded guilty to unrelated public order offences, resulting in a one-month suspended sentence. Cloherty had nine prior convictions, mainly public order and motoring offences. The threatening encounter with Mr Murphy occurred after the TD canvassed about abortion laws in Tallaght in Dublin on 23 May 2023. Cloherty faced a charge under section 5 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act. He was accused of having, without a lawful excuse, made a threat to Mr Murphy, intending him to believe it would be carried out that he would kill or cause serious harm to Ms Spear. Earlier, the court heard that Cloherty had been hospitalised involuntarily. A preliminary hearing in January was told that he denied that he threatened the politician to his face that his wife would be seriously harmed. Ms Spear is a People Before Profit councillor for Tallaght Central. The Director of Public Prosecutions directed summary disposal of the case at district court level. Outlining the evidence, Garda Elaine Markham said that the TD had set up a stall at Belgard Square. He was giving out leaflets about a pro-abortion bill when the accused allegedly "walked up to Paul Murphy and threatened to slit his wife's throat". Gardaí took statements from Cllr Spear and Deputy Murphy. "That's a lie," Cloherty had told the court after it heard a summary of the evidence. He said: "They were talking about killing babies". On conviction, the threat could have led to a fine and a 12-month sentence. Sergeant Nigel Petrie gave evidence on the two remaining unconnected offences - the use of threatening, abusive, insulting behaviour in public and resisting arrest on 9 January. Sgt Petrie said he spoke to Cloherty near Royal Canal Bank in Dublin and was about to arrest him over a warrant. Cloherty angrily shouted: "You have now entered the arena; you don't know what you've just done". He resisted handcuffing the accused or putting him into a patrol car, but the sergeant volunteered that it ranked at two or three out of ten in terms of seriousness. He stressed that Cloherty subsequently sought him out to apologise, adding that he is a very different man from the agitated person he met on the date of the arrest. Ms O'Sullivan, pleading for leniency, said that her client was in homeless accommodation but goes to his mother's house every day. She and Cloherty's brother-in-law came to court and the solicitor emphasised that he had family support and was now on antipsychotic medication. Noting his apology, medical report and mitigation plea, Judge Hughes suspended the one-month term on condition he does not reoffend for two years, stays off cocaine and cannabis, and continues to attend appointments with a mental health professional and follow their directions.
RTÉ News
12-05-2025
- Politics
- RTÉ News
Man to face trial over alleged threat to wife of TD
A trial date has been set for a man accused of threatening to "slit" People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy's wife's throat. Dublin District Court has sought fitness-to-plead reports on the accused, and today, Judge John Hughes reserved 19 June for the non-jury hearing, but the case will also be listed for mention later this month. The incident allegedly occurred after the politician canvassed about abortion laws in Tallaght on 23 May 2023. Joseph Cloherty, 42, of no fixed address, faces a charge under Section 5 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act. Mr Cloherty, who had indicated that he would contest the charge, is accused of having, without a lawful excuse, made a threat to Paul Murphy, intending him to believe it would be carried out that he would kill or cause serious harm to Jessica Spear. Earlier, the court heard that Mr Cloherty had been hospitalised involuntarily, no longer had legal representation, and "wants to represent himself". The court had ordered psychiatric reports. In January, the court had heard that the Dublin South West TD was in Tallaght and was allegedly threatened to his face that his wife, Jessica Spear, would be seriously harmed. Ms Spear is a People Before Profit councillor for Tallaght Central. The Director of Public Prosecutions directed summary disposal of the case at the District Court level. Outlining the evidence, Garda Elaine Markham had said that Paul Murphy had set up a stall at Belgard Square. The TD was there giving out leaflets about a pro-abortion bill. It was alleged that the accused "walked up to Paul Murphy and threatened to slit his wife's throat". Gardaí took statements from her and the TD. "That's a lie," Mr Cloherty had told the court after it heard a summary of the evidence. Jurisdiction was accepted for the case to be heard in the District Court and not in the Circuit Court, which has broader sentencing powers. Mr Cloherty disputed the evidence, telling the judge, "They were talking about killing babies." On conviction, the threat charge can carry a fine, a 12-month sentence in the District Court or imprisonment for up to 10 years if dealt with in the Circuit Court.
