Rush man given suspended sentence for threatening ex-girlfriend’s new partner

By Eimear Dodd

A judge has told a man who received a suspended sentence after threatening his ex-girlfriend’s new partner that “chances run out”.

Michael Mooney (40) of Ceol Na Mara, Rush, Co. Dublin pleaded guilty to making a threat to kill or cause serious harm on July 23, 2020.

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard evidence that Mooney sent a message request on Facebook to his ex-girlfriend’s new partner.

He sent the injured party messages using Facebook Messenger referencing his ex-girlfriend’s name and suggesting the victim end the relationship. He also made a call through the app to the injured party.

Approximately 50 messages were sent over the course of one day, with the injured party replying at one point to try to defuse the situation.

In one message, Mooney wrote: “I’m not having another day of this shit from you or her, stay away from her or you’ll pay with your life.”

Another message from Mooney described the injured party as a “nobody”, then told him this was his “only warning” to “block her and stay away”.

The injured party was frightened and feared Mooney might follow through with threats.

In later messages, Mooney apologised for “losing the head”, adding: “My head is wrecked over everything, she is not worth the hassle she has caused me.”

He said his words were “bang out of order”, apologised and said it was “all talk”.

Mooney met gardai by appointment and exercised his right to silence when interviewed. He has a number of previous convictions including three for making threats to kill or cause serious harm, three for criminal damage and 30 for road traffic offences.

A victim impact statement was handed in to court but not read aloud. The injured party lives in a different area of  the Greater Dublin Area to Mooney, the court was told.

The garda agreed with Justin McQuaid BL, defending, that Mooney’s offending occurred within the context of the breakdown of his relationship with his ex-partner and that there has been no contact between the parties since.

The garda also accepted the defence’s suggestion that the injured party is a “robust man of the world” and that Mooney’s guilty plea was valuable.

A psychological report and other documents were handed in to court.

Counsel noted Mooney’s previous similar convictions are historic and that his client never followed through on his words.

Mooney suffered a serious assault, and has PTSD, the court heard. He has one child, works as a mechanic and attended anger management counselling during 2021.

Mr McQuaid submitted his client is “a kind and decent person when he can regulate his emotions”, but “weaponised words” due to heartbreak and feelings of rejection.

He said his client saw the injured party as a “love rival” and responded inappropriately.

Counsel noted his client’s offending was only on Facebook Messenger, took place over a short period of time and did not involve a sustained campaign of harrassment.

Judge Martin Nolan said Mooney’s threats were intended to “deter” the victim, who the court inferred took them “philosophically”.

He said Mooney seemed “rather fond of threatening people” adding that it seemed to be “a default mechanism when things go wrong”.

The judge noted Mooney’s good work history, guilty pleas, and letters indicating he can be “quite good to the people he encounters”.

But, the judge said, it seemed that if someone “crosses” Mooney, “he threatens them”.  “That seems to be his modus operandi.”

The judge imposed a two-year suspended sentence and directed Money to collect €2,000 within the next 12 months to be offered to the injured party as compensation.

Judge Nolan said the money should be given to a charity by the investigating garda if the injured party didn’t want to accept it.

The judge said the court suspected it might be “galling” for Mooney to have to pay the money, but “that will be part of the punishment” and to remind Mooney that “this behaviour is not cost-free”.

“No one is entitled to threaten anyone because they are upset,” Judge Nolan said. “We are all responsible for our own behaviour.”

The judge noted that everyone has problems, challenges and weaknesses but “you can’t be breaking the law by threatening people”.

He told Mooney he was getting a chance, adding “you have a record of imtemperance”.

“Chances run out. If I were you, I would go home and work on my cars,” the judge added.