Westmeath Man Jailed For 7 Months For 'Vile' Messages

The messages and posts on X were against former AGSI General Secretary Antoinette Cunningham.

An internet troll has been jailed for seven months for "vile social media attacks" against former General Secretary of the Association of Garda Sergeants & Inspectors (AGSI) Antoinette Cunningham.

Andrew McGovern, aged 38, of School Lane, Rathowen, Co. Westmeath, who was responsible for the "sinister" and "blatantly false" messages and posts on Twitter, now called X, was sentenced by Judge Bernadette Owens at Mullingar District Court yesterday/today.

She highlighted that his apology, delivered through his lawyer, came after he stood by his messages, showing no regret or shame, and attempted to claim he was the victim.

McGovern pleaded guilty to a charge stating that he "did distribute or publish a threatening or grossly offensive communication about Antoinette Cunningham with intent to cause harm."

The offence occurred in the Mullingar area from March 16 to 30, 2023, while she was still head of the AGSI, and involved five private and two publicly viewable messages.

Defence solicitor Diarmiud Quinn said his client, who did not address the court, "got the wrong end of the stick" and failed to realise the distress he caused. Mr Quinn said the accused has now accepted the harm and impact on Ms Cunningham.

The solicitor asked the judge to note his client had an elderly mother who relied on him.

He also said McGovern had been attending a GP and was on medication for psychological issues and psychotic episodes, and had deleted all his social media accounts.

However, the judge noted McGovern failed to engage with a psychiatric assessment to address his underlying problems. She also considered how he had told his probation officer that he stood over his posts and messages.

The offence was punishable by a 12-month sentence, and the judge held he deserved only a small degree of credit for his guilty plea.

She imposed a 10-month sentence but suspended the final three months on condition that McGovern, who had one prior conviction for drink driving, did not reoffend for two years.

Ms Cunningham did not attend the sentencing but came to the previous hearing and delivered a powerful victim impact statement.

Earlier, Detective Sergeant Alan Farrelly of the Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation gave evidence and said the first set of five direct messages was sent privately to the victim and made claims that she was his godmother.

McGovern maintained his father had told him before he died, and he remembered her when he was a little toddler in the 1990s, saying, "Godmum, are you annoyed with me?".

Ms Cunningham ignored them until she learned of a second set of "more sinister" posts on his Twitter account about her and mentioning a person connected to her that were publicly accessible.

They contained unfounded claims that allegations had been "all swept under the carpet" and that his life had been ruined forever.

On July 17, Ms Cunningham addressed the court. She spoke out at her dismay at seeing "blatantly false, vile, and completely shocking allegations" about her on social media. They mentioned her job, which she believed was "to try and deliberately damage and discredit me".

Describing the posts as "a demonstration of the very toxic side of social media," she highlighted how the attacks violated her privacy and integrity, "and my sense of personal well-being and peace of mind was fractured as a result of what happened".

She could not fathom why somebody would choose to post disturbing messages about her and continue doing it.

"I felt helpless to defend myself or to receive the expected support from the social media platform; there was a personal vilification of me going on, and I was powerless, at that point, to do anything about it."

"The messages had a profoundly negative effect on me, they were filled with hate, disinformation, offensive content, lies and basely offensive matters."

Cunningham recalled the pressure of "presenting a façade of normality" while dealing with the stress of the situation.

She emphasised the urgency of speaking out, and she had strong words for the social media platform, adding, "To this day, I find it deeply upsetting that something that is a criminal offence in this country is not accepted as a breach of social media rules here.

Last year, Ms Cunningham, from Limerick, announced her retirement after 33 years with An Garda Síochána and the AGSI, and has since moved on to become an employer relations executive with the Irish Business and Employers Confederation.

She made Irish policing history in 2018 when she became the first full-time female official in a Garda representative organisation and the first woman to serve at every executive level of the association.