Denis O’Brien got ‘chilling’ email about ‘slitting throat’, court told

Businessman Denis O’Brien received an email containing a “chilling fantasy” about “slitting my throat”, he has told the High Court.

In a written statement to the court, Mr O’Brien said, he had over many years been subject of media, public and political comment involving regular criticism both generally and for his attempts to protect “my entitlement to privacy in my business and personal life”.

While that was something he had “learned to accept”, he said, about the time of his proceedings against RTÉ in May 2015 aimed at restraining it publishing details of his banking affairs with State-owned IBRC, he and his family “received threats to our lives”.

On May 31st 2015, he received an email directly from an individual who referred to the businessman and his family “and expressed the desire that we would die in our sleep that night”.

“It also contained a chilling fantasy the sender had about slitting my throat.”

Another individual who alleged he was a former member of the French Foreign Legion had, referring to a photo of Mr O’Brien, posted a comment on Facebook stating: “I’m pretty good with a sniper rifle and this c**t’s got a big head.”

That comment was followed by a different person posting pictures of Alan Dukes and Mr O’Brien, the businessman said.

He said the alleged former member of the French Foreign Legion then shared those photographs with the comment: “7.62, .50 5.56”. Mr O’Brien said he was advised the latter comment was a reference to “military grade ammunition”.

"I regularly receive nasty hateful emails but I have never seen anything approaching the level of this. I was fearful for myself and for my family and reported these threats personally to An Garda Síochána on June 5th 2015."

During his evidence on Thursday , he said he could not pinpoint what caused the threats to be made and was not suggesting TDs had anything to do with them.