Regina Doherty: ‘When people start calling me a fat cow, I will respond’

A senior Government figure has decided she will “start pushing back” against people who abuse and attack her on social media and other forums, as a response to the “senseless murder of Jo Cox” last week.

Government Chief Whip Regina Doherty, in a Facebook post at the weekend, said she was no longer willing to keep her head beneath the parapet when she was criticised and abused by people, mainly on social media.

Ms Doherty wrote: “I certainly know not everybody likes me or Fine Gael for that matter but some of the exchanges we receive in public life are simply not acceptable and until we start to push back it will only get worse.

"The senseless murder of Jo Cox this week has not left my thoughts since she died on Thursday. She is my age, a mammy, a politician of conviction. She was brutally murdered doing her constituency clinics. Something we do on a weekly basis, normal, routine.

“I am at a loss as to why some people treat other people the way they do. I don’t know why anybody would threaten your life or that of your family but they do.”

Ms Doherty told The Irish Times yesterday she had always been advised to ignore the "trolls" on social media. "When people start calling me a fat cow, I am told don't say 'boo' back or don't given oxygen to them. But when I don't respond it eats away at me and gets into your head. It's a natural, human thing to respond to such things.

“If they say I am a callous bitch or a bankrupt, I will respond. I will not be rude but I will not be quiet or ignore it any more.”

She said there were already two cases which she would report to Twitter through a solicitor this week. “I am a normal person. If I was a teacher or in a bank nobody would expect us to take this abuse.”

Positive reaction

“When somebody says you are a horrible person, the normal rules [of responding] don’t apply. As soon as you respond, they then say it’s unparliamentary or below your station. By Jove, I am able to give back as good as I get,” she said.

Ms Doherty said she was surprised by the positive reaction she got from the post.

Her intervention will reignite the debate about the nature of commentary towards politicians on various forums, especially Twitter.

All of the Independent TDs who have become part of the Government have also been subjected to personalised attacks on social media, often from anonymous contributors.

John Halligan and Finian McGrath have regularly been branded as "traitors", and Mr Halligan has said he and his family have been subjected to personal threats.

Insults

Yesterday, Fine Gael MEP Mairead McGuinness posted photographs on Twitter which showed insults and threats painted on the road close to her home in Co Louth, seemingly directed at her. She said last night it was the third time this had occurred and the nasty messages, including a Nazi sign, were “disturbing” to her, especially in the wake of the UK tragedy.

She said she and her husband had contacted the Garda Síochána about these incidents but they indicated there was little they could do.