Ashbourne Councillor Tells Court Threats Made by Man with Hammer Forced him to Reconsider Career - 19/09/2025

A Fine Gael councillor carrying out voluntary work last year was accosted by a man who called him a “traitor” and threatened him over his work in support of Ukraine, a District Court has heard.Cllr Alan Tobin, elected in Ashbourne for Meath County Council, said the incident made him think twice about continuing as a public representative.Ciaran Starrs was charged under the Non-Fatal Offences against the Person Act with threatening to kill or maim Mr Tobin at Castle Street, Ashbourne, on June 10th, 2024.In court, Mr Tobin said the defendant produced a hammer and he had a “certain breed of dog” in his vehicle. When an apology was offered in court Mr Tobin said he accepted it but “there should be a zero-tolerance approach to this”. He said his wife heard about the altercation “and shouldn’t be subjected to this”.“Every time a vehicle pulls up beside me now I get nervous,” Mr Tobin said. He said a crime-prevention officer was in his house to make sure his house was secure.Councillor Tobin joined us on The Agenda this morning to talk to us some more about this. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.