A MAN has been sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison after being found guilty of making threats towards Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald and Garda Commissioner Drew Harris. It is understood that the last 15 months of his sentence will be suspended on strict conditions.
29 year-old Richard McGreevy of Rathfarnham, Co Dublin pled guilty to two counts of making a threat to kill or cause harm. He escaped the maximum available sentence for such an offence which carries a penalty of up to ten years.
Ms. McDonald called McGreevy’s actions the ‘threat of a coward’ after he had threatened to shoot her, but said that no one could ‘bully’ her into not doing her job. Ms. McDonald’s victim impact statement was read to the court during McGreevy’s sentence hearing.
McGreevy came to the attention of authorities after posting TikTok videos on 16th July 2024. In these videos, he can be seen making threats towards both Mary Lou McDonald and Drew Harris. Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that the videos were viewed thousands of times on TikTok, as well as being reposted on Facebook and X.
Mr. McGreevy’s defence counsel, James Dwyer SC, said that his client should not be considered a ‘political idealogue’ but a ‘lonely keyboard warrior’ who acted ‘from impulse, not malice’. The Defence also said that McGreevy had failed to realise the full import of his actions.
Mr. Harris declined to provide a victim impact statement. The police commissioner’s was that his statement of complaint had already made clear the level of impact on him.
In clips played for Judge Martin Nolan, McGreevy can be heard saying: “Drew Harris, you should be f****** taken out,” “dragged up to Dolphin’s Barn,” “taken to Dublin Castle” then executed.
He further elaborated that Mr. Harris should be “shot in the head by the IRA, I’m not even joking… F*** you Drew Harris, you’re next, you’re getting it, I don’t give a f*** if I get years for it”.
McGreevy could also be heard making threats toward Mary Lou McDonald in the videos: “See Mary Lou, I’ll shoot her myself for free, I’ll do her for free. F****** little rats.”
The court heard how McGreevy expressed shame and remorse. In an apology letter which was read out, the man described his actions as ‘stupid’.
Mr. Dwyer SC noted that McGreevy had an acquired brain injury, suffered physical abuse as a child, and had experienced psychiatric issues as a result of extended cannabis misuse. The Defence asked that McGreevy’s early guilty pleas, expressions of remorse and personal circumstances be taken into account during sentencing.
Judge Nolan said that while the court found “no intention on the part of this defendant to carry [these threats] out…nevertheless the injured parties were right to be worried about the contents.”
Having accounted for McGreevy’s background at the request of his defence counsel, Judge Nolan finally imposed a three-and-a-half-year prison sentence.
