A Cork Fine Gael councillor has rejected a torrent of online abuse aimed towards her, saying it'll never stop being normalised until we call it out.

Macroom-based Councillor Eileen Lynch said she has been the victim of death threats and abusive emails since she was first elected in 2019.

The most recent wave of abuse came after she posted a picture of herself and incoming Taoiseach Simon Harris to social media which sparked a barrage of nasty comments.

Feelings

Cllr Lynch said those typing out abuse don’t care about the feelings of the person on the receiving end.

“We don’t call it out enough,” she said.

“Yes, we talk about it, yes, we say it’s unacceptable, but unless you actually really highlight it – you’ll never stop it being normalised.

“You’ll never stop it being accepted and people will just say, ‘Ah sure that’s just how it is’ – but it’s not.”

Upcoming elections

Cllr Lynch said the people will decide her fate in the upcoming local elections.

“I have no problem if someone feels I haven’t done enough work or don’t like what I stand for,” she said.

“You can say that and encourage debate without being nasty about it.

“But at the end of the day, we do live in a democracy and on the 7th of June, people will determine whether I deserve to be there or not – I was democratically elected in May 2019.”

A number of high-profile politicians have announced their intention to step back from public life as a result of online abuse.

Most notably, Fine Gael TD Ciarán Cannon said he will not be contesting the next general election, citing a ‘toxicity’ in politics.

Reporting by Cork's 96FM. 

Main image: The picture of Cllr Eileen Lynch and incoming Taoiseach Simon Harris posted to Facebook that sparked a torrent of online abuse aimed at the Cork councillor.