'The upset will never leave,' says MEP Kathleen Funchion after ex-partner jailed under Coco's Law

MEP Kathleen Funchion has described the stomach-churning and lasting distress she has endured at the hands of a former partner who has been jailed under Coco's Law writes the Irish Examiner.

In a powerful victim impact statement, an emotional Ms Funchion described being in a relationship in which her ex-partner "always had to control the narrative" and "did everything in his power to continue this until the very end".

Ms Funchion compared the lasting impacts to a cracked plate as "when it comes to trust, no matter what time has passed, you will always have the scar".

Sean Tyrrell was given a four-month prison sentence, with a separate four-month jail term suspended for two years, for offences under Section 4 of the Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Act 2020, also known as Coco's Law.

Case background 

The court heard that Tyrrell, aged 39, first got to know the politician when he helped out on her 2016 Dáil election campaign and was later co-opted to Kilkenny County Council taking up the seat she vacated after becoming a TD.

They began a romantic relationship in the same year, which was described in court as "dysfunctional" and "on and off" for around five or six years. The couple got engaged in December 2017 and Tyrrell began working in Ms Funchion's constituency office.

There were difficulties in the relationship in the following years amid "trust issues" raised by Tyrrell with the court hearing that he "insisted on having access to Ms Funchion's phone", and in that time accessed WhatsApp messages exchanged between her friends without her knowledge.

Learn more The court was told that Tyrrell persisted in making allegations of unfaithfulness, which were incorrect, and tried to force her to take a lie detector test that caused "very considerable upset".

In August of 2022, after the couple had fully separated, Tyrrell contacted a national newspaper journalist outlining what the court heard was "false information" of domestic violence and financial abuse by a Sinn Féin politician.

He sent a screengrabs of these emails to Ms Funchion and threatened to provide the journalist with her name if she did not agree to a number of demands which included taking the lie detector test and arranging a meeting with party leader Mary Lou McDonald.

Tyrrell also threatened that he would contact the spouses of a number of Ms Funchion's close friends to claim they had been unfaithful in their marriages if she did not comply with his demands.

Victim impact statement 

Ms Funchion told Kilkenny Circuit Court: "The impact that this has had on the rest of my life is that my life has become a very lonely and isolated place where I have issues trusting others. I do not allow people into my life, I question everyone's motivation that is around me and I can become incredibly paranoid. It is very difficult to have to say this aloud but it is the reality of my life now.

"It is something that will stay with me forever, the worry, the upset and at times to this day the disbelief of what has happened, will never leave".

Speaking to the Irish Examiner after sentencing was handed down, Ms Funchion urged other victims of coercive control or harassment to come forward and report it to gardaí.

Addressing the court, Ms Funchion said:

This has been without a doubt the most difficult process that I have ever dealt with in my life.

"Sean tried to destroy some of the most important parts of my life through his actions, threatening my relationships with my family members, my long-term close friends and trying to use my job against me.

"At the time, I could not sleep or eat, I could not concentrate on anything, work or even the most basic of tasks. I literally made myself get up each morning for my two sons."

In sentencing Tyrell, of 31 Cypress Grove, Loughboy, Kilkenny, Judge Cephas Power acknowledged the guilty plea, but said that he "must have known and he must have intended" to cause "significant distress" to Ms Funchion through his actions.

- If you are affected by any of the issues raised in this article, please click here for a list of support services.