An anti-immigration activist has been remanded on bail after being charged with harassing a member of An Garda Síochána over a 10-month period.
Derek Blighe (45), of Curraghavoe, Mitchelstown, Co Cork, was arrested early on Tuesday and appeared before Cork District Court.
He was charged with a single count of harassment between February 22nd and December 4th, 2023.
Det Sgt Chris Cahill told the court Mr Blighe replied “no comment” when the charge was put to him after caution on Tuesday.
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Sgt John Dineen said the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had directed summary disposal of the matter at District Court level only in the event of a guilty plea.
Judge Mary Dorgan asked Det Sgt Cahill to give an outline of the alleged facts of the case so she could decide if she would accept jurisdiction.
He said the charge arose from an incident when the garda was dealing with a matter at a public event in October 2022 and was accosted by another man, who is also due to be charged with harassment of the officer.
The other man later accosted the officer as he walked along Anglesea Street, Cork, wearing a civilian jacket over his garda uniform, having attended Cork District Court on February 22nd, 2023, in relation to the incident at the October public event.
Det Sgt Cahill said gardaí would allege Mr Blighe filmed the incident in which the other man accosted the garda and followed him for several hundred metres from Anglesea Street to Parnell Place, during which time the other man made derogatory comments about the garda.
He said the State would allege Mr Blighe livestreamed the incident on his Facebook page as the other man followed and verbally abused the garda, who was afraid to board a bus home at the Bus Éireann terminal in Parnell Place as he worried he would be followed.
He said the State would allege Mr Blighe then posted messages in April, August, October and December 2023 on his Facebook, Instagram and YouTube accounts in which he made comments about the garda while reposting the original footage of the incident.
He said the State would allege that in a social media post on December 4th, 2023, which Mr Blighe captioned with derogatory comments about the garda, the accused said the officer was terrified and afraid to leave his home.
Det Sgt Cahill described the offence as “a 10-month campaign of harassment” and said the complainant in the case would say the filming incident and the subsequent social activity had caused the garda and his family considerable distress.
Having heard the outline, Judge Dorgan said she believed the case was at the upper limit of her jurisdiction, but given that the DPP had consented to summary disposal on a guilty plea she was willing to accept jurisdiction.
Det Sgt Cahill said gardaí were consenting to bail with conditions including that Mr Blighe would be remanded on his own bond of €500, reside at his home address and sign on each Monday and Friday at Fermoy Garda station.
He said gardaí were also seeking for Mr Blighe to have no contact, directly or indirectly via social media, with the complainant, not post commentary about the case on social media and be contactable round the clock for gardaí.
Frank Buttimer, defending, who was granted discovery of documents in the case, said his client was consenting to the bail terms.
Judge Dorgan remanded Mr Blighe on his own bond of €500 to appear again at Cork District Court on November 18th.
Mr Blighe was formerly the leader of the Ireland First political party and polled more than 25,000 first preference votes in last year’s European elections.
