Murphy says he will “not be intimidated” by death threat graffiti

People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy has said he will “not be intimidated” after threatening graffiti was sprayed near his home.

Murphy posted on Twitter that the graffiti that read “Paul Murphy R.I.P.” appeared “5 minutes” from his house.

Murphy said, “I will continue to oppose those who try to divide ordinary people and spread hate, and we need to unite against those who are actually responsible for housing, health and climate crises.”

Speaking outside the Dáil on Tuesday, Murphy told reporters that politicians and non-politicians alike are experiencing more abuse and harassment.

“People who are anti-immigrant have every right to protest. I defend their right to protest, I disagree with them but I defend their right to protest, but they do not have the right to interfere with people who are going about doing their job, be it pharmacists, be it librarians, be it building workers. That’s the issue,” Murphy said.

Murphy previously spoke out against protesters outside his home in January who were protesting his stance on immigration, with another protest taking place outside his home in April 2023.

The protesters could be seen holding signs that read “illegal male immigrants are housed before Irish homeless”, “why are military-aged men fleeing war?” and “Ireland says no.”

Murphy condemned the January protest, saying the protesters “don’t care about children or homeless, they just want to spread hate and division.”

“They have a sign about Irish homeless, but I bet none have helped anyone fight their eviction,” he remarked.

In recent weeks, a number of other elected representatives such as former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, Minister for Justice Helen McEntee, Sinn Féin TD Eóin O’Broin and Green Party Minister Roderic O’Gorman have been subject to harassment and abuse.

Murphy’s party colleague Bríd Smith said “Paul has been consistently harassed and threatened for quite a period of time, and this is an example of an escalating far-right terror campaign.”