A SECOND woman who was subjected to threatening and abusive comments in a WhatsApp group set up by a Green Party TD has personally contacted the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and Green Party leader Eamon Ryan calling on him to resign.

In a letter sent to the three Government leaders last night, the professional female also demanded a ‘full, contrite and meaningful apology’ from Limerick TD Brian Leddin for the manner in which she was abused by some members of the group.

In the letter to Micheál Martin, Leo Varadkar and Mr Ryan – seen by the Irish Mail on Sunday – she said: ‘This conduct has no place in Irish politics and I hold Brian Leddin to account.

‘I call on Brian Leddin to do the decent thing and resign; he has completely ignored all standards of decency and moral behaviour and the ethical standards expected from elected politicians.’

In her letter, the professional also asked Mr Ryan – who has refused to sanction Mr Leddin – if he ‘condoned the vile, misogynistic abuse that occurred’.

Following recent MoS revelations about the misogynistic abuse from some members of the group, Mr Leddin publicly apologised to independent councillor Elisa O’Donovan, whom he had called ‘unhinged’ and said ‘craves fame’.

This apology was then accepted by Mr Ryan and no sanction was taken against Mr Leddin.

But to date, Mr Leddin has repeatedly refused to apologise to the Limerick professional for the abuse she suffered from some members of the controversial WhatsApp group.

In her letter last night, the woman, who has a long history of voluntary public service and charity work in Limerick, described how she continues to be attacked online.

‘I am the unnamed female professional who was subjected to vile, vitriolic and threatening abusive behaviour by the… WhatsApp group,’ she wrote.

In one exchange, the word ‘c***’ was superimposed on an image of her face, which was then temporarily adopted as the profile photo of Mr Leddin’s group.

As others laughed, Mr Leddin – who had proposed the use of the woman’s photo – failed to intervene as the slur was superimposed and posted.

‘I have been the victim of a continuous and sustained campaign of targeted harassment, gaslighting and incitement to hatred by members of this group for more than two years, which is still continuing,’ the woman’s letter reads.

‘I have been put in fear and intimidated by members of this group which necessitated making a formal complaint to the gardaí.’

In her letter, the woman also called on Mr Ryan to correct ‘misleading’ statements he has made to the effect that Mr Leddin had apologised.

‘I wish to correct the misleading record currently being advanced by you in relation to an apology. There was no apology provided to me…’ she wrote.

‘Brian Leddin was the person who proposed my name as the new… WhatsApp profile picture over which the four letter “C” word was placed across my face, which was then to be used as a darts board.

‘At no point did [Mr Leddin] say STOP.

This was all done without my knowledge or consent. The failure of Mr Leddin to apologise… demonstrates he has no remorse and he stands over his completely unacceptable behaviour. Behaviour of this type has no place in Irish politics and Mr Leddin’s position is completely untenable.’

In the letter, the woman also named those involved in misogynistic abuse on the WhatsApp group.

She then went on to demand action from Mr Ryan as the leader of the Green Party.

‘I call upon you, Minister Ryan, to provide a full, contrite and meaningful apology acknowledging the wrongs done to me by Green Party members and supporters.’

The MoS asked Mr Ryan what he would say if the letter had come from one of his own family members. In response a spokesman for Mr Ryan said: ‘Minister Ryan received the letter on Friday night and intends to respond next week.

Minister Ryan has been very clear from the outset that some of the language used in this group was wrong and inappropriate and that there is no space in Irish politics for commentary that is demeaning to anyone. Since 2020, the party has had an ongoing “Dignity and Respect” training programme, which all Green Party parliamentary representatives are required to undertake.’

Spokesmen for the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste did not return the MoS’s requests for comment.

‘If a gay man had a slur written across his photo, would male leaders be silent?’

THE National Women’s Council of Ireland has called for political leadership from the Green Party and all parties in the wake of revelations about the silence of a party TD in the face of misogynistic comments on a WhatsApp group he set up.

An NWCI webinar this week heard that efforts to tackle abuse against female politicians are not being given the same priority as slurs directed at others.

In recent weeks this newspaper has exposed abusive slurs and threats by other members of the group against women contained in a policy-focused WhatsApp group established by Limerick TD Brian Leddin – but which he later quit.

In one exchange on Mr Leddin’s group, the word ‘c***’ was superimposed on a photo of a Limerick professional who carries out public interest, voluntary work in the city.

The doctored photo was temporarily adopted as the group’s profile photo by a group member after Mr Leddin suggested her image be used. Mr Leddin did not suggest the slur that accompanied the photo, but did nothing to object when it was adopted as the group’s profile photo as others laughed.

These circumstances led Caitríona Gleeson, CEO of Women for Election, to ask on the Webinar: ‘If the WhatsApp group had an image of a gay male politician in it last week – with a slur across the picture – would we have had the silence?

‘That’s the question and that’s the challenge I put to our male leaders,’ she added.

Separately, NWCI director Orla O’Connor told the Irish Mail on Sunday: ‘There is an onus on all political parties to put in place clear sanctions for any member or candidate who engages in online abuse, including sexist, racist and homophobic abuse.’

Mr Leddin has apologised to another woman – independent councillor Elisa O’Donovan – who was also abused by some members on the group chat. However, he has so far failed to apologise for the behaviour towards the professional woman who was also subjected to misogynistic abuse by some of the group.

Green Party leader Eamon Ryan, backed by the party’s executive, has refused to sanction Mr Leddin despite calls to do so from six party TDs, MEPs and senators – including deputy leader Catherine Martin.

‘The language used in the Limerick WhatsApp group as reported last week was disgusting, insulting, demeaning, and misogynistic,’ Ms Martin told the

MoS last week. ‘And as I said to members of the party’s MC and to Brian himself on Sunday, silence is an enabler in such scenarios and should not be excused.

‘I will respect the decision of our democratically elected EC, but as a female member in a leadership position in this Party I am disappointed and frustrated by the lack of understanding of the hurt caused, and the perceived trivialising by the party of serious issues that impact women.’

This week Ms Martin publicly suggested the matter will likely be raised at the Green Party’s thinkin, due to take place this week. In the wake of the controversy, the Irish Women’s Parliamentary Caucus also met this week and has agreed to write to the Green Party and other political parties to highlight the need to tackle the abuse of women in politics.

Prior to the 2020 Election, both Mr Ryan and Mr Leddin were among 90 politicians who signed a NWCI manifesto pledging to support women’s rights if they were elected.

During the election women voters were encouraged by the NWCI to check which election candidates were supportive of the manifesto prior to voting. But now, in the wake of the Brian Leddin WhatsApp scandal, Ms O’Connor has expressed disappointment at the lack of political leadership displayed.

When asked about the failure of Mr Ryan to sanction Mr Leddin, Ms O’Connor said the NWCI was ‘currently highlighting the serious misogynistic abuse, including online abuse, that women in politics experience’.

‘There is an onus on all political parties to put in place clear sanctions for any member or candidate who engages in online abuse, including sexist, racist and homophobic abuse.’

This week, Women for Election’s Caitríona Gleeson was also critical of the Green Party’s failure to sanction Mr Leddin.

Ms Gleeson told the public NWCI webinar on Thursday – on the topic of social media abuse being a barrier to women participating in politics – that political parties need to act. ‘Offline and online we need leadership that calls this out.’

Michelle Maher of See Her Elected – a group dedicated to supporting the entry of women into politics – told the MoS last night that the abuse on the WhatsApp group was ‘toxic and it’s awful’.

‘If any woman is showing she’s getting a level of abuse every political party has to say, “I believe her, I stand by her and publicly support her”. ‘There’s a particular culture that allows remarks like that to be made and I do think that saying nothing if you are the leader of a political party isn’t an option in a case like that.’ Claire McGing, academic and equality, diversity and inclusion manager at the Dún Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology also called for sanctions.

‘Sanctions for party members is key – things like the removal of the party whip for very clear violations,’ she told this week’s webinar.

Ms McGing added: ‘The most common perpetrators of online abuse of women in politics are party members not only of opposing parties but sometimes of women’s own parties.’