Gun violence threat made to Sinn Féin TD Martin Kenny’s office

The call contained a threat to shoot a Garda and a further threat against Leinster House.

A threat of gun violence was made to Sinn Féin TD Martin Kenny's office, the party has confirmed. It comes after the Irish Examiner reported that the Leinster House office of a leading, rural TD for Sinn Féin was contacted by phone by a caller who said they were on their way to the building with a firearm. The paper said that the call was made on Tuesday morning shortly after 11am and was answered by a parliamentary assistant. In a statement to JOE, a Sinn Féin spokesperson confirmed the party's justice spokesperson Martin Kenny's office received the call. "This story, as originally reported, was open to interpretation," the party spokesperson said. "To clarify, Martin Kenny received a call, which contained a threat to shoot a Garda and the same person issued a threat against Leinster House." "We alerted the Gardaí and the Oireachtas of this threat. "There was no threat made against a Sinn Féin TD; but obviously all threats need to be treated seriously by the Gardaí. It is now in their hands." The Oireachtas told JOE it does not comment on security matters, while a spokesperson for the Gardaí said they were aware of a concerning phone call. "An Garda Síochána is aware of a phone call of concern made to an office at Government Buildings," the spokesperson said. "While An Garda Síochána cannot confirm or comment on the specific nature of that phone call, for accuracy, no threat was made against any named member of An Garda Síochána. "In general, An Garda Síochána considers any suggestion in respect of the threat to use violence and/or perpetration of violence or intimidation in any general sense or against named individuals or organisations as a matter of serious concern. All such matters are investigated." In a separate incident, Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe was subject to an angry encounter with anti-vaccination protestors on the streets of Dublin. In a video shared on social media and viewed by JOE, Donohoe is verbally accosted by a small group of individuals shouting things like "mass genocide" and "God is watching". Main image via Mark Marlow/Rolling News