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Man appears in court charged with McDonald threats

Mary Lou McDonaldImage source, PA Media
Image caption,

Ms McDonald said she had reported a threat to her life to police on Wednesday

  • Published

A 28-year-old man has been remanded in custody after appearing in court charged with threatening to kill or cause serious harm to Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald.

Richard McGreevy from Whitechurch Place in Rathfarnham in Dublin appeared before Dublin District Court on Friday.

The offence is alleged to have taken place on Tuesday at Mr Greevy's home in Dublin.

He was arrested after of footage was circulated on social media of a man in a balaclava threatening to shoot Ms McDonald.

He was also charged with failing to turn up for a court appearance in June.

Det Sgt Gareth Kane objected to bail on a number of grounds including the seriousness of the charge, the nature and strength of the evidence and the potential sentence upon conviction of up to 10 years in prison.

Mr McGreevy's defence solicitor told the court his client had an acquired brain injury, had lost his father and had been abandoned by his mother when he was three.

Refusing bail, Judge Paula Murphy said Mr McGreevy did not have a good record of turning up in court and remanded him in custody to appear in court again later in July.