diff --git a/pymods/irods_utils/irods_utils.py b/pymods/irods_utils/irods_utils.py
index e8bc55c7c3d354b0c182e76938baf114c87212fb..c12ae9142eaca0c5e58d2c8e70ba8b6d406b1140 100644
--- a/pymods/irods_utils/irods_utils.py
+++ b/pymods/irods_utils/irods_utils.py
@@ -243,6 +243,10 @@ def confirmed_put( irods_sesh, file, new_obj_ipath, metadata_dict=None, datatype
                  + " datatype: " + datatype
                  + " block_size: " + str( block_size ) )
 
+    if irods_sesh == None:
+        logging.error( "irods_sesh == None" )
+        return None
+
     # We want a hash of our file. Should put this off in a separate thread?
     try:
         sha = hashlib.sha512()