A Dublin man got 15 months for injuring pigs at a planned asylum site, citing protest against government policy.

A 40-year-old former IT worker from County Dublin, Darren Jackson, was sentenced to 15 months in jail for animal cruelty after two pigs were found severely injured at a proposed asylum seeker accommodation site in Thornton Hall, north Dublin, in June 2024. Jackson admitted transporting four pigs from a Cavan farm but claimed an accomplice inflicted the wounds. Authorities found evidence including a voice note requesting knives, text messages referencing a "contract for the dead," and video footage of Jackson driving a van while singing modified IRA songs about pigs. He said he protested government asylum policies, claimed he believed the pigs would be released, and denied targeting any religious or ethnic group, citing the 1916 Proclamation. The judge reduced the original two-year sentence, citing Jackson’s prior good work history, a €1,000 donation to an animal welfare trust, and remorse.