A Co Carlow man has been jailed for five months for causing criminal damage at the home of Green Party deputy leader Mary White during last year's general election campaign.
Edward O'Brien (22), a father of two, of Fr Cummins Park, Bagenalstown, was convicted at Kilkenny District Court on Tuesday.
He pleaded guilty to charges arising from a car-burning incident at the entrance to Ms White's home close to Mount Leinster in south Co Carlow.
The court was told that the incident took place early on May 9th last when Ms White and her husband Robert, who live in a former rectory at Killedmond, Borris, awoke to discover a Nissan Micra car on fire outside their home.
The flames and smoke damaged a pier at the entrance to the property, the driveway and trees in the garden.
Supt Aidan Roche, of Thomastown Garda station, told the court O'Brien was one of a group of young men who had been "boyracing" on Mount Leinster during the night before the incident, and had caused damage to a scenic area known as the Nine Stones.
He said O'Brien had admitted to messing around on the mountain, pulling handbrakes and burning tyres.
When the group left the mountain they travelled in a convoy of three cars to the nearby home of Ms White, where the Dublin-registered Nissan Micra was abandoned, doused with petrol and set alight. O'Brien and "a friend" had bought the car for €50.
Supt Roche said Ms White, a county councillor and general election candidate at the time, was known for publicly criticising "boyracing", litter and vandalism on Mount Leinster.
She feared she was being targeted, and that there was a vendetta against her. The incident had caused "serious anxiety" to the White family.
However, Michael Lanigan, solicitor for the defence, assured the court that O'Brien's actions had not been politically motivated.
He presented the court with psychiatric and probation reports which showed that his client had been drinking and taking medication for depression.
However, Judge William Harnett said an individual was targeted, and this constituted a serious incident.
O'Brien also faced charges relating to road traffic and public order offences at various locations in Co Carlow, to which he pleaded guilty.
He was convicted of drunk driving, dangerous driving and driving a defective vehicle at Ballytiglea in Borris; driving without insurance at Ballymurphy; and with being intoxicated in a public place and refusing to give his name and address when asked by gardaí at Borris.
Judge Harnett imposed a five-month jail sentence on the charge of causing criminal damage at the home of Ms White, and a second five-month sentence, to run consecutively, for dangerous driving.
The judge also banned O'Brien from driving for six years, and imposed fines totalling €3,400. Leave to appeal was granted.
Ms White, now a TD for Carlow-Kilkenny, was not in court.
Gardaí at Graiguenamanagh are continuing to investigate the incident at Ms White's home.
Sgt PJ Whelan said yesterday a number of other people were facing charges.