JUNIOR MINISTER ANNE Rabbitte has told a court that a man told her “I am not forgetting about you, there is one for you, Rabbitte” before flinging a bag of cow dung towards her at a public meeting.

At Gort District Court sitting in Ennis today, Galway East TD and Minister of State at the Dept of Health and at the Dept of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Deputy Anne Rabbitte wept in the witness box as she recounted the incident at a packed public meeting over a planned biogas plant for Gort at O’Sullivans Royal Hotel, Gort on 4 January, 2023.

Minister Rabbitte told the court that she was “picked out” by Joseph Baldwin.

She said: “There was no safety. I didn’t feel safe in a public space with the people that elected me.”

She said: “I felt I was the most vulnerable person in the room… I didn’t feel protected or feel safe there.”

Asked why she later went to the Gardaí that night after the public meeting, Minister Rabbitte said: “There is a line and I felt it was crossed that night and no one spoke up for me and I had to speak up for myself that night.”

In the case, south Galway farmer Joseph Baldwin (39) of Ballyaneen, Gort denies assaulting Anne Rabbitte on 4 January 2023 at the public meeting, contrary to Section 2 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act.

Recounting the incident, Minister Rabbitte said that she saw a man had flung a bag of contents towards Galway East constituency colleague, Ciaran Cannon (FG).

CCTV footage played to the court this afternoon showed Mr Baldwin say “here is a bag of cow shite for you” before throwing the bag in the direction of Deputy Cannon. The bag fell at the feet of Deputy Cannon.

After witnessing Mr Baldwin throwing the bag towards Deputy Cannon, Minister Rabbitte told the court that she thought “Jesus. God help us. What is after happening to Ciaran? How will he recover from that one?”

The CCTV footage showed Mr Baldwin turn and then throw a bag in the direction of Minister Rabbitte. The court heard from an eyewitness that the bag contained “a green liquid substance”.

Minister Rabbitte said that the man “was incredibly angry, his face was red”.

She said: “The white of his eyes I won’t forget.”

Minister Rabbitte said that the man said to her: “’I am not forgetting about you, there is one for you Rabbitte’ and then he flung a bag as well.”

After the bag fell on the ground beside her, Minister Rabbitte said: “I didn’t know if the two legs were going to go from under me.”

She said: “Someone picked it up and said that it was a bag of shit.”

Minister Rabbitte said: “I wanted to scream my head off because no one said that what was happening was wrong.”

On going to the local Garda station to have what occurred ‘noted’, Minister Rabbitte said: “It is tough, we do what we do but I love it and it is a privilege and I apologise judge to be bawlin’ my way through it, but someone had to speak up.”

Solicitor for Mr Baldwin, Daragh Hassett, said that eight eyewitness accounts from people who were present on the night who gave statements to the Gardaí said that the bag thrown by Mr Baldwin did not hit Ms Rabbitte.

Mr Hassett said that Ms Rabbitte had recoiled from her statement to Gardaí where she said that the bag hit her on the torso and now says she felt it hit her. 

Mr Hassett said: “It is quite clear from the footage that no bag struck you at all.”

Minister Rabbitte said: “I still feel it. You can’t deny me my feelings.”

Mr Hassett told Minister Rabbitte after hearing her evidence, “you are a very unreliable historian”.

Mr Hassett described Minister Rabbitte’s direct evidence as “quite emotive”. 

During cross-examination, Mr Hassett told Minister Rabbitte: “This isn’t the Dáil now, you can’t be making speeches.”

Mr Hassett said that Ms Rabbitte told Gardaí that the bag had struck Deputy Cannon and pointed out Deputy Cannon had told Gardaí that the bag did not hit him but instead landed at his feet.

Mr Hassett said that her statement to Gardaí that she was struck by the bag was “inaccurate and misleading” when seen alongside the CCTV evidence which shows that the bag did not hit her.

Mr Hassett said: “It is not assault.” 

The case continues.