Latest news with #HarassmentandHarmfulCommunicationsAct
Dublin Live
22-05-2025
- Dublin Live
Man admits assaulting ex-partner and publishing intimate images of her
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info A Midlands man has admitted publishing intimate images of his ex-partner and attacking her in a hotel. The man, in his 20s, who is not being named for legal reasons, appeared at Mullingar Circuit Criminal Court where he entered guilty pleas to the two offences. Judge Kenneth Connolly remanded him in continuing custody pending sentence. He was accused of assault causing harm to the woman and publishing intimate images of her, at the same location, over two dates earlier this year. He replied "guilty" when arraigned on the two counts, under sections 3 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act and 2 of the Harassment and Harmful Communications Act. John Hayden SC, defending, said his client had been "in the throes of heavy cocaine and ketamine addiction". Mr Hayden said the man had been in employment from a young age, but during the Covid pandemic and when he was out of work, he started abusing cocaine and was under pressure. The court heard he had been in a relationship with the woman but had taken steps to self-rehabilitate and was attending psychological counselling and a drug treatment programme. The defence said the man is now drug-free and asked the court to order a probation report for more insight into him. Judge Connolly agreed to seek the pre-sanction report and also a spousal assault risk assessment, as well as a victim impact statement. The facts of the case will be heard later. He will appear again in July. Join our Dublin Live breaking news service on WhatsApp. Click this link to receive your daily dose of Dublin Live content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. For all the latest news from Dublin and surrounding areas visit our homepage.
Irish Daily Mirror
21-05-2025
- Irish Daily Mirror
Man admits assaulting ex and publishing intimate images of her
A Midlands man has admitted publishing intimate images of his ex-partner and attacking her in a hotel. The man, in his 20s, who is not being named for legal reasons, appeared at Mullingar Circuit Criminal Court where he entered guilty pleas to the two offences. Judge Kenneth Connolly remanded him in continuing custody pending sentence. He was accused of assault causing harm to the woman and publishing intimate images of her, at the same location, over two dates earlier this year. He replied "guilty" when arraigned on the two counts, under sections 3 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act and 2 of the Harassment and Harmful Communications Act. John Hayden SC, defending, said his client had been "in the throes of heavy cocaine and ketamine addiction". Mr Hayden said the man had been in employment from a young age, but during the Covid pandemic and when he was out of work, he started abusing cocaine and was under pressure. The court heard he had been in a relationship with the woman but had taken steps to self-rehabilitate and was attending psychological counselling and a drug treatment programme. The defence said the man is now drug-free and asked the court to order a probation report for more insight into him. Judge Connolly agreed to seek the pre-sanction report and also a spousal assault risk assessment, as well as a victim impact statement. The facts of the case will be heard later. He will appear again in July.
Irish Daily Mirror
30-04-2025
- Politics
- Irish Daily Mirror
Sinn Fein MEP admits to 'serious' trust issues after ex jailed under Coco's Law
Sinn Féin MEP Kathleen Funchion said she has 'very serious trust issues' and her life has been changed after her former partner was jailed under Coco's Law. On Monday, Sean Tyrell was jailed under Section 4 of the Harassment and Harmful Communications Act for four months, with a separate four-month jail term suspended for two years. The court heard that Tyrell made false accusations about Ms Funchion, saying she had been unfaithful. They began a relationship in 2016, and after they split in August 2022, he contacted a journalist at a national newspaper saying a Sinn Féin politician was making false claims about domestic violence and financial abuse. Screengrabs of these emails were sent to Ms Funchion, as he threatened to give the journalist her name if she didn't meet a number of his demands. One of these demands was taking a lie detector test. Speaking after Tyrell was jailed, the MEP said she considered doing this, and these thoughts are the reality for many people who are coercively controlled. She told RTÉ's News At One on Tuesday: 'He wanted me to take a lie detector test, which I would say at one point I was considering doing. That shows how it really gets into your head and you really do doubt yourself. "When I think back about that now, I thought that this will resolve the issue, that someone being able to go through your phone, that you can show that there's nothing to hide. 'Somebody who is controlling like that, no matter what you do, nothing is going to be good enough.' Ms Funchion decided to go to the Gardaí after she was at 'breaking point' in August 2022. She said: 'I was very, very upset. I wasn't sleeping or eating. I feel like I spent all of that time in my life crying... I went into the Gardaí and spoke to them. "They have been incredible, and unbelievable in the work that they do on a daily basis. I found that they were objective, but so professional and kind in their approach. They really made me feel that I wasn't going crazy.' While the Sinn Féin politician said she felt 'physically lighter' leaving court on Monday, it has left her with 'very serious trust issues'. She continued: 'I don't see that ever leaving me. I find it difficult to acknowledge this about myself, but it has changed my life, and not in a positive way. "I question people more that come into my life, and I keep my circle very, very small... But I am really glad that I did see this through to the end, and that there was justice yesterday."
BreakingNews.ie
29-04-2025
- Politics
- BreakingNews.ie
Kathleen Funchion speaks out after ex partner jailed over coercive control
MEP Kathleen Funchion has spoken of her hope of making more people aware of coercive control after her former partner was jailed yesterday for offences under the Harassment and Harmful Communications Act. Sean Tyrrell of Cypress Grove, Loughboy in Kilkenny received a four-month prison sentence, with a separate four-month prison term suspended for a period of two years, for offences under Section 4 of the Act which is also known as Coco's Law. The 39-year-old appeared before a sitting of Kilkenny Circuit Criminal Court yesterday. Advertisement In an interview with KCLR Daily with Brian Redmond this afternoon Ms Funchion said that control was a very serious issue in her relationship with Mr Tyrrell. 'Right up until the end of the relationship, he had to have the control of the situation. And I think that's something that can happen very subtly. People don't see it happen. You don't wake up one day and realise that you're potentially in a controlling situation. 'It happens over time, and it kind of happens in a way that makes you doubt yourself and makes you wonder am I seeing this correctly? Am I picking this up correctly? It really makes you feel like you're actually going a bit crazy. And I think that that can be some of the reason that people don't see the situation that they're in.' The Sinn Fein MEP said that Tyrrell accessed her phone and contacted 'very good lifelong friends of hers". Advertisement 'People that knew me long before I was ever in politics. I suppose my most trusted circle and he was alleging all sorts about their lives. Contacting their partners alleging they had been unfaithful.' She stated that her former partner was always accusing her of infidelity. 'That (accusing her of being unfaithful) was a constant. He wanted me to do this lie detector test. That was in 2022. Honestly, I was considering doing it. And that is why I wanted to speak out. To say to other people that you can be in these situations. You don't see it creeping in and eventually you realise 'what am I doing here? This is not normal.' 'I was in two minds on whether to speak about this. Obviously for me this is three years going on. I do feel like I really want to try and reach out to other women potentially in this situation. Advertisement "It is difficult when you are in the public eye and you talk about (things like) policy debate …but this is very personal and people sometimes question your motivation. "It all came to a head in August 2022. Up to that point I was always holding out hope that things could be resolved.' Ms Funchion described her experience as 'isolating' and said that she was lucky to have had support from her friends and family. ' I feel unbelievably grateful that my friends stood by me in that situation because that was a very difficult situation for them.' Advertisement Victim impact statement Meanwhile, in her victim impact statement in court yesterday Ms Funchion said that her former partner 'always had to control the narrative' and "did everything in his power to continue this until the very end". 'The impact that this has had on the rest of my life is that my life has become a very lonely and isolated place where I have issues trusting others. I do not allow people into my life, I question everyone's motivation that is around me and I can become incredibly paranoid. It is very difficult to have to say this aloud but it is the reality of my life now. "It is something that will stay with me forever, the worry, the upset and at times to this day the disbelief of what has happened, will never leave.' Ms Funchion said that "when it comes to trust, no matter what time has passed, you will always have the scar". Advertisement The court heard that Tyrrell first got to know Funchion when he assisted on her Dáil election campaign in 2016. He later took up the seat she vacated in Kilkenny County Council taking up the local authority seat she vacated after she became a TD. They entered a romantic relationship which lasted several years. Ms Funchion and Mr Tyrrell got engaged in December 2017 and Tyrrell began working in the constituency office of his partner. WhatsApp messages The court heard that Tyrrell insisted on having access to Funchion's phone and accessed her WhatsApp messages without her knowledge. In August of 2022, after the couple had broken up, Tyrrell contacted a journalist outlining false information of domestic violence and financial abuse by a Sinn Féin politician. He sent a screengrabs of this correspondence to Ms Funchion and threatened to provide the reporter with her name if she did not agree to a number of demands. The demands included taking a lie detector test and setting up a meeting with party leader Mary Lou McDonald. Tyrrell also threatened that he would contact the spouses of a number of Ms Funchion's close friends to claim they had been unfaithful in their marriages if she did not comply with his demands.
RTÉ News
29-04-2025
- Politics
- RTÉ News
'It happened subtly over time' - MEP highlights coercive control after ex-partner jailed
Sinn Féin MEP Kathleen Funchion has spoken of her relief after her former partner was jailed yesterday, adding that she wanted to make people aware of coercive control. Sean Tyrell was convicted under the Harassment and Harmful Communications Act for four months, with a separate four-month term suspended for two years. Tyrell made a number of false allegations against Ms Funchion, who met him while campaigning for her when she was running for Sinn Féin. Speaking on RTÉ's News at One, Ms Funchion said she wanted to make more people aware of coercive control following the sentencing. "I think one of the reasons why I was anxious to speak about the situation is to explain to people, and for other people in the situation is that it is something that you don't see happening, in terms of it's very subtle," she said. "When you're with someone who is a controlling person, that doesn't happen overnight. It's subtle and it happens over time. "You get to a stage where you feel there's something wrong with you, and it's not something where you wake up one morning and realise, this is not a great situation. It happens over time." Tyrell accused Ms Funchion a number of times of being unfaithful, had access to her phone and wanted her to take a lie detector test. "There were difficulties in terms of him continuously alleging that I was unfaithful," Ms Funchion said. "He had absolutely no reason to think that, and no evidence to prove that was the case at all. No matter what I said, he was adamant that I had been unfaithful in the relationship. I found that very difficult. "He wanted me to take a lie detector test, which I would say at one point I was considering doing. That shows how it really gets into your head and you really do doubt yourself. "When I think back about that now, I thought that this will resolve the issue, that someone being able to go through your phone, that you can show that there's nothing to hide. "When you're removed from the situation and you're speaking to other people, you realise that that is not normal behaviour, that level of mistrust in a relationship. But because it happens subtly over time, you don't necessarily see it like that," she added. Ms Funchion reached out to the Amber women's refuge in Kilkenny before going to gardaí. She encouraged anyone who finds themselves in a similar situation to do the same. "I think it got to a point in August 2022, where I was really at breaking point. I was very, very upset. I wasn't sleeping or eating. "I feel like I spent all of that time in my life crying ... I went into the gardaí and spoke to them, and was very lucky that I got to speak to the Protective Services unit of the gardaí in Kilkenny. "They have been incredible, and unbelievable in the work that they do on a daily basis. I found that they were objective, but so professional and kind in their approach. They really made me feel that I wasn't going crazy," she said. Ms Funchion said that she felt "physically lighter" after Tyrell was sentenced yesterday, but that this was something she would carry with her for the rest of her life. "I was nervous thinking about yesterday and what the potential outcome could be, but I don't think I realised how great the relief would be until I was actually in that situation yesterday. I literally felt physically lighter." She said that it was an incredible feeling to have been listened to and vindicated, however the experience has changed her life. "I find it difficult to acknowledge this about myself, but it has changed my life, and not in a positive way," Ms Funchion said. "I have very serious issues with trust as a result of this, I don't see that ever leaving me. "I question people more that come into my life, and I keep my circle very, very small ... But I am really glad that I did see this through to the end, and that there was justice yesterday. "I do feel very strongly about that and I do feel that I was listened to," she added.
