A man has been jailed for a series of hoax phone calls during which he threatened to petrol bomb a coroner and go to the house of a former State pathologist with an AK-47 rifle, among other false reports.
Judge Martin Nolan said Thomas McDonagh (41) had “a grievance against the State” following the death of his brother in Castlerea Prison four years previously.
He said McDonagh had made various threats due to this grievance.
“They may have been far-fetched but those who took the calls would have had to take precautions. That was his intention to cause an inconvenience,” Judge Nolan said.
McDonagh, of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty to making three hoax phone calls on August 15th, 2019 and a further false phone call some weeks later on August 26th. He has over 60 previous convictions.
He was sentenced to 18 months in prison at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court on Wednesday after Judge Nolan said he had to go to prison.
“He has caused a lot of difficulties for others,” the judge said.
The court heard that on August 15th, 2019, McDonagh made three 999 calls, including one in which he threatened to go to the home of former State pathologist Dr Marie Cassidy with an AK-47.
In the second 999 call, he made threats to Castlerea Prison, saying there was Semtex in the prison building and under several prison officers’ cars.
The third 999 call was a threat to petrol bomb the home of the coroner based in Ballaghadereen, Co Roscommon.
On August 26th, McDonagh rang Tallaght Garda Station and said there was going to be a car parked outside the station with a bomb in it.
The court heard that McDonagh’s brother had died some four years previous to the offences, while in the custody of Castlerea Prison.
A prosecuting garda told Maddie Grant BL, for the State, that McDonagh was identified through the use of a prepaid mobile phone and a WhatsApp profile containing a photo of the accused.
McDonagh has been homeless for periods of time and has also spent time in custody and the court heard that gardaí were unable to make contact with him in relation to this until May 2021.
He met with gardaí by appointment and made full admissions, saying he had been very intoxicated at the time of the phone calls.
McDonagh told gardaí that he had been very upset around the anniversary of his brother’s death and had never intended to carry out any of the threats.
He said he was “bullied into it” and hadn’t realised it was serious, but that he was glad no one was hurt.
David Staunton BL, defending, said that the offences arose out of “a perceived conflict” his client had with these parties following the death of his brother.
“He sought to ventilate this over a short period of time, one night and then two weeks later, he did it again. He realised the 'jig was up' and ceased to do it,” Mr Staunton said.
He said his client had “an appalling history” and had lived rough in Dublin for over a decade. He has since secured accommodation and counsel said he has “taken proactive steps” to rehabilitate.
Mr Staunton said the methodologies suggested by his client in the 999 calls were “fantastical” but accepted that “precautions had to be taken” after receiving those calls.
