Brave Fine Gael councillor speaks out about horrific 'death threats' and 'abuse'

Cllr Eileen Lynch told The Opinionline on Cork's 96FM that she has been the victim of death threats and abusive, toxic emails. She has also been called a “wh*re” and a “c*nt”.

A Cork Fine Gael Councillor has spoken out about death threats and the amount of abuse she and her colleagues receive online.

Cllr Eileen Lynch told The Opinionline on Cork's 96FM that she has been the victim of death threats, abusive and toxic emails. She has also been called a “wh*re” and a “c*nt”.

Over the weekend, she posted on Facebook about the barrage of abuse she received since being elected in 2019.

She also hit out at people posting negative comments under a picture of her and Simon Harris to congratulate him becoming Fine Gael leader.

READ MORE: Growing calls in Fianna Fail for election before March 2025

She noted that while the nasty comments under this picture were “not too aggressive”, she had had a rake of other nasty comments.

“We see many people stepping away from politics lately, and many are stating reasons of how toxic and abusive it has become,” she wrote on Facebook.

“I've had the odd death threat and abusive emails and social media messages galore, but I've taken it on the chin. (Having been called a scabby C***, brain dead etc....but to mention a few!)

“Having had to contact the guards to report a death threat, being like it's grand but just want to put it on the record....I'm sure it's nothing.!

“It is not something that I usually comment on publicly on my socials; unfortunately, it is an accepted part of the job. The highs outweigh the lows for me.”

Speaking to 96FM, Ms Lynch said that when she reported death threats to the Gardaí, nothing came of it as “burner phones” were being used.

She said: “I think too often politicians and it's not just politicians in relation to online abuse generally and trolling generally, we don't call it out enough.

“Yeah, we talk about it. Yeah, we say it's not acceptable. But I think unless you actually really highlight it, you'll never stop it being normalised, you’ll never stop it being unacceptable.”

Join the Irish Mirror’s breaking news service on WhatsApp. Click this link to receive breaking news and the latest headlines direct to your phone. 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.