Minister cries in court as she recounts how man threw cow dung at her during meeting

A government minister has told a court she felt vulnerable and unsafe after a man threw a bag of cow dung at her during a public meeting.

Anne Rabbitte, Minister of State and Fianna Fáil MLA for Galway East, wept in court as she recounted the incident at a packed public meeting at the O’Sullivans Royal Hotel, Gort, County Galway, on January 4, 2023.

Ms Rabbitte told Gort District Court, sitting in Ennis on Friday, that she had been “singled out” by Joseph Baldwin at the meeting over a proposed biogas plant in the area.

“I didn’t feel safe. I didn’t feel safe in a public space with the people who elected me,” she said.

“I felt like I was the most vulnerable person in the room.”

She added: “I didn’t feel protected or safe there.”

Asked why she went to police later that evening after the public meeting, Ms Rabbitte said: “There is a line and I felt it was crossed that night and no one stood up for me and I had to stand up for myself that night.”

In this case, Galway farmer Joseph Baldwin (39), of Ballyaneen, Gort, denies assaulting Anne Rabbitte on 4 January 2023 at the public meeting, contrary to section 2 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act.

Recounting the incident, Ms Rabbitte said she saw a man throw a bag towards her Galway East constituency colleague, Fine Gael MLA Ciarán Cannon.

CCTV footage played in court on Friday afternoon showed Mr Baldwin saying: “Here’s a bag of cow poop for you” before throwing the bag at Mr Cannon. The bag landed at Mr Cannon’s feet.

After seeing Mr Baldwin throw the bag at Mr Cannon, Ms Rabbitte told the court she thought: “Jesus. God help us. What’s going to happen to Ciarán? How is he going to recover from this?”

CCTV footage shows Mr Baldwin turning around and then throwing a bag towards Ms Rabbitte. The court heard from an eyewitness that the bag contained “a green liquid substance”.

Minister Rabbitte said the man “was incredibly angry, his face was red”.

She said, “I’ll never forget the whites of his eyes.”

Ms Rabbitte said the man told her: “I haven’t forgotten you, there’s one for you, Rabbitte,” and then he also threw a bag at her.

After the bag fell to the ground next to her, Ms Rabbitte said: “I didn’t know if both legs were going to give out on me.”

“Someone picked it up and said it was a bag of s**t,” she said.

Ms Rabbitte said: “I wanted to scream at the top of my lungs because no one said what was happening was wrong.”

As she went to her local police station to report what had happened, Ms Rabbitte said: “It’s tough, we do what we do, but I love it and it’s a privilege, and I apologise, your Honour, for shouting like that, but someone had to speak up.”

Mr Baldwin’s lawyer, Daragh Hassett, said eight eyewitnesses who were present that night and gave statements to guards said the bag thrown by Mr Baldwin did not hit Ms Rabbitte.

Mr Hassett said: “It is clear from the footage that no bag hit you.”

Mrs Rabbitte said: “I still feel it. You can’t deny me my feelings.”

After hearing her evidence, Mr Hassett told Ms Rabbitte: “You are a very unreliable historian.” Mr Hassett described Ms Rabbitte’s direct evidence as “very moving.”

During cross-examination, Mr Hassett told Ms Rabbitte: “We are not in the Dáil any more, you cannot make speeches.”

Mr Hassett said Ms Rabbitte told guards the bag had hit Mr Cannon and stressed that Mr Cannon had told guards the bag had not hit him but instead landed at his feet.

Mr Hassett said her statement to guards that she was hit by the bag was “inaccurate and misleading” when viewed alongside CCTV evidence which shows the bag did not hit her.

Mr Hassett said: “This is not an assault.”

The case continues.