Overview
- Andrew McGovern, 38, was sentenced at Mullingar District Court to 10 months with the final three months suspended for two years, resulting in seven months in custody.
- He pleaded guilty under Section 4(1) and (3) of the Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Act 2020.
- The harassment occurred from March 16 to 30, 2023, and involved five direct messages and two publicly viewable posts on X that contained unfounded allegations.
- Judge Bernadette Owens cited very serious psychological issues noted in the probation report and McGovern’s refusal to engage with assessments, granting only limited credit for his plea.
- In a victim impact statement, Antoinette Cunningham described profound harm and said X refused to remove the posts, which disappeared only after the author closed the account.