Mother of Grace Lynch receiving online threats campaigning for changes in legislation

Vivienne Clarke

Siobhan Lynch, the mother of the teenager who died after being hit by a scrambler bike in Finglas last January, has said she will not be deterred from campaigning for changes in legislation because of online threats.

Lynch told Newstalk’s Claire Byrne show that in the past month, she had received threats that “I would have my window smashed, that I'd better stop now or I'll know all about it.

“I have received threats that they will put me down, they will put me where my daughter is. They have slandered Grace, they have said they don't care if Grace got a smack of a scrambler, they don't care about the law.”

All the messages, which had come in on Facebook and TikTok, had been saved and passed on to the gardaí, she said.

The experience had been frightening for the whole family, it was all a way of trying to intimidate them, she said.

“I've had people tell me Grace was an absolute idiot, that it's her own fault that she got killed. Why did she not just stay back? Why did she cross the road?

"How dare I stand up for my daughter? How dare I protect her name? How dare I fight and let everybody know what happened to Grace?”

Gardaí had advised the family to report any threats and if they noticed anyone around the house.

Grace’s father Martin, who came off all social media platforms, said he was “obviously annoyed and agitated”, with the threats. “You can't argue with dumb, can you? There's no point in denying anything, because you're not going to get anywhere.”

At the end of the day, Siobhan was not doing anything wrong, he added. “She has a goal and a mission to make people aware of what's going on and what should be happening, and where society's gone wrong, and some people just don't get it.”

The family was determined to continue their campaign around scramblers, electric bikes and scooters. Their daughter had been failed by the system, which was why they were pushing for Grace’s Law and enforcement of existing legislation.

“I wouldn't like to see another parent go through what I've gone through,” said Siobhan Lynch.

Social media platforms should not allow people upload posts unless they have a profile so they could be identified, otherwise anonymity allowed them “an easy way to target people”.

“It's an easy way to bully people and it shouldn't be allowed, all of these administrators should be looking into this, she said.”

People might not like what she had to say, but Lynch was determined to continue her campaign.

“They may not like what I have to say, but the truth is, Grace didn't die for no reason, and they can come for me all they want, but you know you're disrespecting a little girl in the meantime who didn't ask to die and I'll never stop fighting for her, I will never ever stop fighting for her. “