Fianna Fáil fear late-night bottle attack on Louth constituency offices was deliberate

• Yesterday 11:23

Members of the Louth Fianna Fáil branch believe that a late night “attack” on its new constituency offices in Seatown in Dundalk may have been a deliberate act.

A window at the front of the building was smashed by a bottle during the early hours of the morning, and while the building was empty at the time, Danny O’Shea, chairman of Fianna Fáil Louth East Meath CDC, insists the attack wasn’t random, and represents an attack on “democracy and free speech.”

“After a hiatus of several years Fianna Fáil opened a constituency office and clinic in Dundalk” Mr O’Shea said. “The purpose of a clinic is to provide a space where public representatives can be contacted by citizens looking for advice and help on any range of matters.”

While Fianna Fáil doesn’t currently have any sitting TDs in Louth and East Meath, the new offices serve as a local base for Senator Erin McGreehan.

“Within three months of this office opening it has been the subject of what appears to be have been a deliberate attack. This consisted of a full bottle thrown through the office window late at night, shattering the window and the attached Fianna Fáil/Senator McGreehan signage,” O’Shea said.

Gardai were called to the scene the following day and are investigating the incident.

“Yes, it may be argued that this was just a prank which could have occurred at any building in the town, but it seems the perpetrators arrived by car and left at speed having damaged the property,” Mr O’Shea continued. “And of course, it wasn’t random. The office is clearly marked and bearing Senator McGreehan’s details and the building had never been attacked before.

“At a time when more female voices are needed in public life it is sad to see an act like this which is obviously designed to intimidate.

“Without exaggeration this deliberate act is an attack, not only Senator McGeehan’s office but, on our democracy, and on free speech. It is a reminder that although we have just commemorated a hundred years since the civil war ended we should never take our freedoms for granted,” he concluded.