Galway sicko who bombarded woman with 500 calls a day and threatened to ‘cut her like a fish’ walks free

Niall Quinn, of Doire Beag, Knocknacarra, Co Galway was given a four-year suspended sentence for making repeated threats to rape and ki

A woman who endured a year-long campaign of terror with her tormentor threatening to “cut her up like a fish” has spoken of her fear after he walked free.

Niall Quinn, of Doire Beag, Knocknacarra, Co Galway was given a four-year suspended sentence for making repeated threats to rape and kill Tara O’Shea.

Brave Tara, 24, said the nightmare is finally over, but she still keeps her doors locked 24 hours a day for fear Quinn will track her down.

Quinn issued vile daily threats to Kerry native Tara and Dubliner Sarah Jordan, leaving hundreds of sinister voice messages.

Tara told Galway Beo the abuse began when she moved back to Kerry leaving the Galway restaurant where she’d worked alongside Quinn for several years.

She said: “I was getting up to 500 calls a day, rape threats, death threats, everything.

“I was very scared. I didn’t know who it was or why they were doing it.

“I wasn’t sleeping, I wasn’t eating. I wasn’t leaving the house. My phone was ringing every single hour.

“I would stay up [at night] and then when my parents got up in the morning I’d go to bed.”

Tara had to listen to every single vile voice message in order to save them for future evidence.

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She revealed: “Every morning… me and my mum had to sit and go through all the threats. It was terrible.

“The calls kept getting worse. He said ‘I’m gonna cut you up like a fish, I’m going to get you and rape you.

“He rang me on my birthday and told me to enjoy it because it’s my last birthday alive.” Gardai arrested Quinn in December 2021.

He told them he started threatening her because he was upset she left Galway “without saying goodbye”.

Tralee Circuit Court heard he was a “troubled individual” with “psychological difficulties”.

He pleaded guilty to two counts of harassment against Tara and Sarah.

Tara said she is relieved her nightmare is over, but the experience will never leave her.

She said: “It’s something so horrific and traumatising, it’s something that will stay with me forever.”