A man has pled guilty to an assault on Roderic O’Gorman while he was canvassing in Dublin. The 45-year-old appeared before Blanchardstown District Court on the morning of Monday, November 4, after being arrested at his home two days earlier following the incident.

According to reports, Karl Ronan was charged with section 2 assault, as well as with using or engaging in threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour with intent to provoke a breach of the peace or being reckless as to whether a breach of the peace might have been occasioned. He was also indicted for causing damage to property, namely a clipboard which was hit out of O’Gorman’s hand during the incident.

Garda Joseph Rogers gave evidence of arrest, charge and caution before the man was remanded on bail on his own bond of €100. The court heard that he will be applying for legal aid, and the case will return to Blanchardstown District Court on December 17.

The Green Party leader was targeted on Saturday, November 2, as he went door-to-door in the Blanchardstown area. The assault occurred on Ronan’s doorstep, where the aforementioned clipboard was hit out of O’Gorman’s hand before he was physically attacked.

The altercation was prevented from escalating following an intervention by a member of An Garda Síochána who was present. While O’Gorman did not sustain any injuries, he is said to be “shaken” by the event.

In a statement, the out gay politician shared: “On Saturday, while out canvassing in Dublin West, what was otherwise a positive canvass was marred by an alarming incident with one individual. I am grateful to the Garda Protection Officer assigned to me who was forced to intervene, and I have given a statement to the Gardaí on the matter.”

He added that he is “deeply concerned about the increase in abuse and threats that politicians face, particularly in the last number of weeks”.

“It is abundantly clear that rampant misinformation on social media is driving extreme views. Misinformation is near-total on some platforms. I have seen the effects of that first hand, for both myself and for many other elected representatives.

“We cannot tolerate a situation where people running for office – from all parties and none – face the threat of violence for doing so,” O’Gorman expressed.

Thanks to everyone we met out on the canvass in Hollystown this afternoon. I’ll be following up with a local update with info on the main issues raised 🗳️ pic.twitter.com/YcvojLIU8X

— Roderic O’Gorman TD (@rodericogorman) November 3, 2024

Taoiseach Simon Harris condemned the incident, calling it “absolutely unacceptable” and adding that what happened “cannot be tolerated or accepted in a modern democracy”.

“I am so glad to hear he is ok and back out canvassing,” he continued. “I have been all across the country in recent months and it is important to state the overwhelming majority of people are fundamentally decent. Engaging directly with people is a core and fundamental part of our democracy and something I think people in this country value.

“It is essential in the weeks ahead that political candidates can go about their campaigning in complete safety and without fear…The safety of all politicians and all their canvassers is paramount.”