‘Really frightened’ – Louth councillor forced to install home security after series of ‘intimidating’ callers
What began as occasional unwelcome knocks on the door escalated into something far more sinister at the home of a Louth councillor who has spoken of the “fear and intimidation” which forced her to install enhanced security measures.
Cllr Maeve Yore, who was first elected in Dundalk twelve years ago, revealed she contacted Louth County Council after repeated encounters with aggressive or persistent callers — some of whom left her “really frightened”.
One evening, alone in the house, she heard her doorbell ring but didn’t feel comfortable opening it.
“He didn’t get an answer so he went round the back of the house and was trying the back door. It really freaked me out,” she said.
On another occasion she opened her front door to a man with a rottweiler on a leash. “He was giving out to me the whole time, and I was looking at this dog. It was really intimidating. It wasn’t what he was saying really, but his whole demeanour that frightened me.”
A number of similar incidents prompted her to report the behaviour, and by late 2025 she had a full security audit carried out, resulting in a range of upgrades installed in and around her home.
Cllr Yore said she had been “very reluctant” to speak publicly about the issue.
“I’ve been a councillor a long time, and I am used to dealing with people who have a whole range of issues, and people who are difficult to deal with,” she said.
“But there have been a growing number of callers who left me feeling unsafe, and I was worried for my family too. They didn’t ask for this life… and they don’t deserve to be made feel afraid in our home.”
One of her biggest concerns is her daughter Rachel, who has Down Syndrome. “We tell her not to open the door to people calling, but sometimes she will, and that really worries me.”
Having run for election back in 2014 “in the hope that I could make a difference” she says she never expected it would affect her family’s sense of security.
Her experience comes as politicians across Ireland — at both local and national level — report an increase in abusive behaviour, particularly online.
“I get a lot of abuse online, all the time. I deal with it, and tell myself at least it can be switched off. But that doesn’t mean I’m not hurt by it.”
Years ago, she said, she would not have hesitated to invite constituents into her home if they needed help.
But one encounter early in her political career changed that, when she discovered the caller had “serious mental health challenges.”
“I thought I was really in trouble that day as I was in the house on my own. I was in the kitchen and I felt very afraid as I couldn’t get them to leave.”
From that day on she resolved only to meet people in public places. But that didn’t stop unwanted callers to her home.
“I know that for many years councillors’ home addresses were listed on Louth County Council’s website. That did change a few years ago, after a number of councillors highlighted security concerns… Now there are email addresses for the public to contact us, which is better.”
But as a long-serving member, she acknowledged many people still may know where she lives.
“For that reason I knew we had to do something… even though it didn’t sit well with me, and still doesn’t.”
She worked with the council and gardaí to assess the risks. The new security measures, she said, give her “a bit more peace of mind”.
“I think it says a lot about the changing society we live in — there are more dangerous undercurrents, which people in public-facing roles like ours are really noticing.”
“I know politicians get a bad name, but the majority of us are in this with the best of intentions. No one deserves to be intimidated and frightened, and fear for the safety of their family, because of the job they do. No job is worth that.”