Charged with making a threat to kill councillor
A CLONDALKIN man has been charged with making a threat to kill a local councillor after he “didn’t get a food parcel”.
Noel Collins is accused of threatening to kill South Dublin County Councillor Francis Timmons and his husband in a voicemail last month.
Blanchardstown District Court
He was remanded on bail subject to conditions when he appeared in Blanchardstown District Court.
Mr Collins, aged 65, with an address at Lealand Gardens, Clondalkin, is charged with two counts of making a threat to kill or cause serious harm - to independent Cllr Timmons and to his husband at their Clondalkin home on March 19, 2021.
The charges are contrary to Section 5 of the Non Fatal Offences Against the Person Act.
Garda Keith Cleary told Judge Gerard Jones it was alleged the accused threatened by voicemail to kill Cllr Francis Timmons and his husband.
He asked the judge to impose a bail condition that Mr Collins does not disseminate any defamatory information in relation to the injured parties.
Garda Cleary said it was feared Mr Collins was “disseminating information in the community that is of a defamatory nature to the injured parties”.
Cllr Francis Timmons
Cllr Timmons was “an upstanding member of society and in the public eye”, and his profile could be affected by this, the garda added. The judge made the bail condition and Garda Cleary said the DPP consented to summary disposal of the charges in the district court.
Defence barrister Jennifer Jackson asked the judge if he wished to address the issue of jurisdiction. Judge Jones asked for more evidence of the alleged offences.
Garda Cleary said there was an interaction between the accused and the councillor after “a food parcel was not given to the accused”.
The garda said it was the prosecution’s case that Mr Collins had a history of alcohol misuse and “does not deal well with confrontation when intoxicated”.
He said Mr Collins allegedly left voicemails on Cllr Timmons’ phone and although the number was blocked, voice mails could still be left.
Judge Jones accepted jurisdiction to deal with the case and granted a disclosure order to the defence before remanding Mr Collins on bail to July 8.
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