Ex-Labour and Sinn Féin councillor made 40 threatening calls in one day

A former Labour and Sinn Féin Dublin City Councillor made 40 threatening phone calls to one man over a six-hour period, Tallaght court heard on Friday morning.

Judge Patricia McNamara adjourned Killian Forde’s case to December for a further restorative justice report.

Forde was a Dublin City Councillor with Sinn Féin from 2004 to 2010, before switching to Labour. He resigned his seat in 2011 when he was made chief executive of the Integration Centre. He also wrote some travel articles for The Irish Times.

The 45-year-old, with addresses at Cardonagh Park, Donaghmede, and Sutton Park, Sutton, had admitted to making a hoax telephone call at an address at Homelawn Drive, Tallaght, on October 7th, 2014, contrary to Section 13(1) of the Post Office (Amendment) Act, 1951.

He was before the court on Friday for a restorative justice report. Judge McNamara said it was a good report and asked to hear the facts. Garda Stephen Neylon said that between 12.25am and 6am, Forde made 40 phone calls to the injured party, Paddy Banks. He said the calls were threatening in nature and Forde had asked that Banks make contact with him and there would be consequences if he didn't.

Garda Neylon said Mr Banks reported the incident to the gardaí and Forde later attended Tallaght Garda Station on October 10th, 2014, where he made a voluntary statement. He said Forde was cooperative and indicated he had been intoxicated at the time of the offence. The injured party was present in court.

Forde's defence lawyer, George Burns BL, said his client had worked for 10 years in the charity sector. He said Forde has expressed his remorse for the offence.

Judge McNamara said that Forde had cooperated with the probation services and it was a positive report. She said she would adjourn the case to a date in December for a further restorative justice report.