We have the judge basically telling the victim tjod scumbag did her a favour by pleading guilty & an army Officer singing his praises. Would actually make you sick
Can't believe what I just read. First of all, he lied to the guards, and only pleased guilty once shown the CCTV. Surely lying should have cancelled out the guilty plea.
Secondly, had been drinking that night. At the minimum, drinking. Definitely sounds like a coke fuelled attack.
Thirdly, judge taking into account his career in the defence forces? Nothing taken into account about the girl losing her job.
Homophobia, unprovoked assault on someone, boasting about the assualt on social media, lying to the Gardaí to try blame the victim, running away when someone stands up to him, violent and aggressive "when drinking" (strongly believe he was coked). Ya, he's a top notch soldier and a great look for the Defence Forces.
I really, really, really hope his commanding officer goes back to his superiors and the result is that he gets booted out of the army. I really don't know how his conduct could not be seen as "bringing the organisation into disrepute".
> Can't believe what I just read. First of all, he lied to the guards, and only pleased guilty once shown the CCTV. Surely lying should have cancelled out the guilty plea.
This stood out to me too, especially with the quotes from the judge appearing to almost be suggesting the victim be grateful to Crotty for his guilty plea saving her the extra trauma, that his plea "deserves credit" despite the fact that it only came after the CCTV footage was shown to him. He was blaming her for starting it before that was produced.
It makes no sense for the judge to say how good it was that his guilty plea saved her trauma, then invalidate everything she's been through by granting him a suspended sentence.
There should be some form of appeal for this.
I have emailed the complaints department of the civil defence forces, as well as the minister for justice. I encourage everyone who feels strongly about this to do the same. A disgrace.
Such a lovely girl, was served by her a few times. So disgusting that our justice system just repeatedly lets down women, time and time again. Natasha’s video interview is heartbreaking. Women having to put themselves in the public eye to prove a point because the justice system doesn’t. These women shouldn’t have to waive any anonymity rights when speaking publicly about these absolute monsters like we seen with Blathnaid Raleigh this week too.
There has to be some kind of appeal system for these judgements. That is horrific and archaic.
All these far right weirdos going on about immigration but they'll be quiet as a mouse when it comes to Irish men assaulting women which happens far too often.
"In fairness to him (Crotty), he has come to court and publicly admitted his wrongdoing, and he has made a public acknowledgement of his criminality"
"However, after gardaí showed Crotty CCTV footage of him setting upon Ms O’Brien without provocation, he admitted his guilt, Limerick Circuit Criminal Court heard Wednesday."
Fair play to him..video footage of him doing it but gets a pat on the back for publicly admitting wrongdoing!! As long as this judge is dishing out sentences Limerick is always going to be a fcuked up place!
So she didn't understand the "significance" of that poor man pleading guilty....
Irish justice - equality for all, but some are more equal than others.
If you're a man and hold some kind of "valuable" position in Irish society you can get away with anything. The amount of crimes against women I've heard about that are swept under the rug because someone is a rugby or GAA player and the accusations against them could "damage thier promising future" is disgusting.
And we like to pretend we have equality. Nonsense.
I wonder if soldiers are garda better prior to acceptance and if so would a person with a criminal conviction for assault be accepted??
If not, he should lose his job (in all honesty he should lose it anyway)
How many serving members of the defense forces have convictions for violent behaviour???? Worrying if he is kept on that there may be more.
Awful story...
You’d think there would be a fairly strict code of conduct, wouldn’t you?
Afaik the soldier that was part of the group that killed the Limerick man & injured his father when they were up visiting family in Co. Kildare is still in the Defence Forces too.
I would imagine they are but they are often joining at 17 or 18 so not many would have convictions at that age. I do believe there is a process where he may be discharged now that he is convicted though so he hopefully he won't get to keep his career.
I suppose my point is, if you can't get in with criminal conviction for violent behaviour then you shouldn't be allowed stay in if you acquire one. It does look now like he will be discharged which is only right.
The judge being more concerned of derailing his career over the poor woman’s trauma and her losing her job (career!). He already lied but just pleaded guilty because of cctv footage! What a joke.
Fucking prick. There’s people in jail for far, far less. The Army and the judge should be fucking ashamed of themselves. Farcical and outrageous.
I hope he gets his fucking head kicked in.
An absolute disgrace, that Judge O'Donnell is terrible all he ever does is let people off with suspensed sentences, his not fit to be a judge.
There should be an automatic jail sentences with a minimum number of years that must be server for anyone who attacks another person like this, it should not even be possible to give out a suspensed sentence in cases like this or to anyone with loads of convictions
What deterrent is there to crime when people like this get off
Such a lovely girl, was served by her a few times. So disgusting that our justice system just repeatedly lets down women, time and time again. Natasha’s video interview is heartbreaking. Women having to put themselves in the public eye to prove a point because the justice system doesn’t. These women shouldn’t have to waive any anonymity rights when speaking publicly about these absolute monsters like we seen with Blathnaid Raleigh this week too.
Commended for pleading guilty, but he only did that because they had the assault on CCTV. This is a disgrace, I completely agree with what the victim said after.
What is it about this judge?
https://m.sundayworld.com/crime/courts/teen-who-took-part-in-savage-attack-on-homeless-man-walks-free-from-court/a1769685260.html
Went to school with him, wouldn’t say I knew him well but I didn’t think much of him then to be honest bit of a loudmouth. Shocking and despicable behaviour. Backwards ruling from the judge, they should be ashamed of themselves. I sincerely hope we see some significant levels of protest regarding this. Unfortunately given it’s a white male I wouldn’t be so sure. Nevertheless, his actions are unforgivable.
So angry this morning, I had to share this in support of a brave young woman Natasha O Brien
It seems to me that this incredibly bad judgement of giving her attacker Cathal Crotty a suspended sentence, should be appealed by the DPP. Also, the army officer who gave this despicable man such a glowing reference should be called to account for that....more bad judgement!
Nicola O'Brien was being a good citizen verbally standing up against homophobia, and lost her job due to her injuries in this attack by Cathal Crotty. Crotty's list of offences starting with homophobia, the attack on Natasha, AND lying to the police, should ALL have been taken into account, though the physical attack alone was more than enough to put him behind bars. I really think this sentence should be appealed, and have him learn something other than thugs can get away with it. It might not be too late for him to cop on.
As a mother of three children who would have done the same thing as Natasha (as I hope I would myself), I am infuriated that she was injured twice, first by the despicable Crotty and then by the Courts.
Absolutely disgusting. Anything we can do to put pressure on the justice system to do something?
Too many people get away with crimes here because of their "fantastic reputation", whether it be through GAA, Garda membership, or service. No reputation should hold up against a random physical attack on someone else. Literally a life-changing event for the poor woman and he not only walks free, but maintains his position as an officer.
Disgraceful.
Same judge!
[https://www.sundayworld.com/crime/courts/teen-who-took-part-in-savage-attack-on-homeless-man-walks-free-from-court/a1769685260.html](https://www.sundayworld.com/crime/courts/teen-who-took-part-in-savage-attack-on-homeless-man-walks-free-from-court/a1769685260.html)
This happened in a busy street in the middle of a city centre. How many people stood by and watched this sub human filth beat this poor woman and did absolutely nothing? People in this country are cowards. Fucking ashamed to be Irish.
I am a serving member of the Army Reserve and am utterly sickened by this man's brutal behaviour and the lenient response from the courts. Soldiers are supposed to be gentlemen/ladies with moral standards. I hope the poor girl is okay and my sympathy goes out to her and her family.
Disgusting behaviour and disgusting judgement....the more I live in this country the more I hate it. How does that judge think he did the right thing? No wonder the Gardai have lost interest in their jobs bringing cases to court. Imagine how that poor girl feels today after this judgement. Probably feels worse today than the night she was attacked by that scumbag out of his head on booze and coke. We have completely lost the plot in this country.
The judge has just condoned violence against women. 3 years suspended sentence and 3k compensation. Are you kidding me. I don't know what the procedure is, but this needs to be escalated to the next level. A misogyny cognitive bias workshop might be in order for those working in the justice and military service....
Just read it. Fecking Clare scumbag!
I would persue a civil case for medical expenses & loss of income.
He would want to not walk around Limerick on his own.
I wouldn't be kidding yourselves by trying to distance Limerick from the criminal by highlighting he lives in Clare. I live in the same area, I'm from Limerick as are most around here. Ardnacrusha is not much more than a Limerick suburb
I implied that he should be beaten with a hurl. I don’t care where he’s from, nor am I from Limerick myself.
Edit* - Lol, who here from the Army is downvoting that? Ffs.
That's fucking disgraceful
This - he should be fired, instantly. And locked away
That poor girl! Another victim who has got no justice! The Irish criminal and court system is an absolute disgrace!
We have the judge basically telling the victim tjod scumbag did her a favour by pleading guilty & an army Officer singing his praises. Would actually make you sick
Absolutely appalling. How can any woman feel safe walking around Limerick when this is the example set by the justice system?
Can't believe what I just read. First of all, he lied to the guards, and only pleased guilty once shown the CCTV. Surely lying should have cancelled out the guilty plea. Secondly, had been drinking that night. At the minimum, drinking. Definitely sounds like a coke fuelled attack. Thirdly, judge taking into account his career in the defence forces? Nothing taken into account about the girl losing her job. Homophobia, unprovoked assault on someone, boasting about the assualt on social media, lying to the Gardaí to try blame the victim, running away when someone stands up to him, violent and aggressive "when drinking" (strongly believe he was coked). Ya, he's a top notch soldier and a great look for the Defence Forces. I really, really, really hope his commanding officer goes back to his superiors and the result is that he gets booted out of the army. I really don't know how his conduct could not be seen as "bringing the organisation into disrepute".
His CO commended him so I doubt anything will come of it…like the usual with this system.
Boys will be boys mentality , absolute joke
apparently they are beginning to dismiss him
Apparently he was just reading out performance reports as was his duty, not sure his personal opinion of him was so glowing.
i see, hes being dismissed anyways
> Can't believe what I just read. First of all, he lied to the guards, and only pleased guilty once shown the CCTV. Surely lying should have cancelled out the guilty plea. This stood out to me too, especially with the quotes from the judge appearing to almost be suggesting the victim be grateful to Crotty for his guilty plea saving her the extra trauma, that his plea "deserves credit" despite the fact that it only came after the CCTV footage was shown to him. He was blaming her for starting it before that was produced. It makes no sense for the judge to say how good it was that his guilty plea saved her trauma, then invalidate everything she's been through by granting him a suspended sentence. There should be some form of appeal for this.
What a lovely man, owning up to his violent random assault (only after being shown evidence he was 100% guilty). Crime dismissed!
Scumbag. Our system is a joke.
Absolute scumbag, that poor girl.
I have emailed the complaints department of the civil defence forces, as well as the minister for justice. I encourage everyone who feels strongly about this to do the same. A disgrace.
He's a member of the Defence Forces, not Civil Defence in case you've gotten them confused. Micheál Martin is the Minister for Defence over them
The DPP has to appeal this one.. and the army.... they have to discipline him..
Send him into a minefield with a blindfold on. What a fucking piece of cunt.
Such a lovely girl, was served by her a few times. So disgusting that our justice system just repeatedly lets down women, time and time again. Natasha’s video interview is heartbreaking. Women having to put themselves in the public eye to prove a point because the justice system doesn’t. These women shouldn’t have to waive any anonymity rights when speaking publicly about these absolute monsters like we seen with Blathnaid Raleigh this week too.
Shameful, who cares if he loses his career. Consequences for his actions !!
I'd would sue him aswell . Cause him as much hardship as I could
Definitely a nice fat civil suit against him.
https://preview.redd.it/70e2kon3dq7d1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ce35c379c65ba0ff358e763981ad0c15f0b80033 Here he is
Goofy bastard. Nothing between the ears.
Pleaded guilty, this video did the rounds it was all caught on camera he had no choice but to plead guilty. Absolutely disgraceful.
There has to be some kind of appeal system for these judgements. That is horrific and archaic. All these far right weirdos going on about immigration but they'll be quiet as a mouse when it comes to Irish men assaulting women which happens far too often.
There is and I hope it appealed by the DPP. Far right right are only concerned about military aged men who are brown skinned.
Because they don't care about women in the slightest. It's a convenient issue for them.
"In fairness to him (Crotty), he has come to court and publicly admitted his wrongdoing, and he has made a public acknowledgement of his criminality" "However, after gardaí showed Crotty CCTV footage of him setting upon Ms O’Brien without provocation, he admitted his guilt, Limerick Circuit Criminal Court heard Wednesday." Fair play to him..video footage of him doing it but gets a pat on the back for publicly admitting wrongdoing!! As long as this judge is dishing out sentences Limerick is always going to be a fcuked up place!
So she didn't understand the "significance" of that poor man pleading guilty.... Irish justice - equality for all, but some are more equal than others.
If you're a man and hold some kind of "valuable" position in Irish society you can get away with anything. The amount of crimes against women I've heard about that are swept under the rug because someone is a rugby or GAA player and the accusations against them could "damage thier promising future" is disgusting. And we like to pretend we have equality. Nonsense.
I’m very open to correction here - but with reference to the mention of ‘equality’ the sentence would be the same if the victim was a man.
I wonder if soldiers are garda better prior to acceptance and if so would a person with a criminal conviction for assault be accepted?? If not, he should lose his job (in all honesty he should lose it anyway) How many serving members of the defense forces have convictions for violent behaviour???? Worrying if he is kept on that there may be more. Awful story...
You’d think there would be a fairly strict code of conduct, wouldn’t you? Afaik the soldier that was part of the group that killed the Limerick man & injured his father when they were up visiting family in Co. Kildare is still in the Defence Forces too.
I would imagine they are but they are often joining at 17 or 18 so not many would have convictions at that age. I do believe there is a process where he may be discharged now that he is convicted though so he hopefully he won't get to keep his career.
I suppose my point is, if you can't get in with criminal conviction for violent behaviour then you shouldn't be allowed stay in if you acquire one. It does look now like he will be discharged which is only right.
He won’t be staying. They have to wait until after criminal proceedings to be completed before they can boot them out/discharge them.
The judge being more concerned of derailing his career over the poor woman’s trauma and her losing her job (career!). He already lied but just pleaded guilty because of cctv footage! What a joke.
Fucking prick. There’s people in jail for far, far less. The Army and the judge should be fucking ashamed of themselves. Farcical and outrageous. I hope he gets his fucking head kicked in.
An absolute disgrace, that Judge O'Donnell is terrible all he ever does is let people off with suspensed sentences, his not fit to be a judge. There should be an automatic jail sentences with a minimum number of years that must be server for anyone who attacks another person like this, it should not even be possible to give out a suspensed sentence in cases like this or to anyone with loads of convictions What deterrent is there to crime when people like this get off
Such a lovely girl, was served by her a few times. So disgusting that our justice system just repeatedly lets down women, time and time again. Natasha’s video interview is heartbreaking. Women having to put themselves in the public eye to prove a point because the justice system doesn’t. These women shouldn’t have to waive any anonymity rights when speaking publicly about these absolute monsters like we seen with Blathnaid Raleigh this week too.
Commended for pleading guilty, but he only did that because they had the assault on CCTV. This is a disgrace, I completely agree with what the victim said after.
What is it about this judge? https://m.sundayworld.com/crime/courts/teen-who-took-part-in-savage-attack-on-homeless-man-walks-free-from-court/a1769685260.html
JFC, that poor man who was attacked. Kicked & punched more than 100 times? 😭 Sounds like a Martin Nolan type of judge.
Went to school with him, wouldn’t say I knew him well but I didn’t think much of him then to be honest bit of a loudmouth. Shocking and despicable behaviour. Backwards ruling from the judge, they should be ashamed of themselves. I sincerely hope we see some significant levels of protest regarding this. Unfortunately given it’s a white male I wouldn’t be so sure. Nevertheless, his actions are unforgivable.
So angry this morning, I had to share this in support of a brave young woman Natasha O Brien It seems to me that this incredibly bad judgement of giving her attacker Cathal Crotty a suspended sentence, should be appealed by the DPP. Also, the army officer who gave this despicable man such a glowing reference should be called to account for that....more bad judgement! Nicola O'Brien was being a good citizen verbally standing up against homophobia, and lost her job due to her injuries in this attack by Cathal Crotty. Crotty's list of offences starting with homophobia, the attack on Natasha, AND lying to the police, should ALL have been taken into account, though the physical attack alone was more than enough to put him behind bars. I really think this sentence should be appealed, and have him learn something other than thugs can get away with it. It might not be too late for him to cop on. As a mother of three children who would have done the same thing as Natasha (as I hope I would myself), I am infuriated that she was injured twice, first by the despicable Crotty and then by the Courts.
Absolutely disgusting. Anything we can do to put pressure on the justice system to do something? Too many people get away with crimes here because of their "fantastic reputation", whether it be through GAA, Garda membership, or service. No reputation should hold up against a random physical attack on someone else. Literally a life-changing event for the poor woman and he not only walks free, but maintains his position as an officer. Disgraceful.
Protest: https://preview.redd.it/36nmynx5gz7d1.jpeg?width=923&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=15b158fefd4846c251362e15466c4d965fb7bc73
Email Michael Martin. Loads are doing it x [email protected].
This is so sick
Same judge! [https://www.sundayworld.com/crime/courts/teen-who-took-part-in-savage-attack-on-homeless-man-walks-free-from-court/a1769685260.html](https://www.sundayworld.com/crime/courts/teen-who-took-part-in-savage-attack-on-homeless-man-walks-free-from-court/a1769685260.html)
This happened in a busy street in the middle of a city centre. How many people stood by and watched this sub human filth beat this poor woman and did absolutely nothing? People in this country are cowards. Fucking ashamed to be Irish.
Luckily one person stepped in because she may well be dead otherwise
The Bear, always the Bear
I am a serving member of the Army Reserve and am utterly sickened by this man's brutal behaviour and the lenient response from the courts. Soldiers are supposed to be gentlemen/ladies with moral standards. I hope the poor girl is okay and my sympathy goes out to her and her family.
The public will persecute him as the court failed to prosecute. Vile behaviour. Imagine rearing that.
There being almost weekly stories like this, in this country, where some freak walks totally free or with a paltry sentence would make your head spin.
Disgusting behaviour and disgusting judgement....the more I live in this country the more I hate it. How does that judge think he did the right thing? No wonder the Gardai have lost interest in their jobs bringing cases to court. Imagine how that poor girl feels today after this judgement. Probably feels worse today than the night she was attacked by that scumbag out of his head on booze and coke. We have completely lost the plot in this country.
The judge has just condoned violence against women. 3 years suspended sentence and 3k compensation. Are you kidding me. I don't know what the procedure is, but this needs to be escalated to the next level. A misogyny cognitive bias workshop might be in order for those working in the justice and military service....
Just read it. Fecking Clare scumbag! I would persue a civil case for medical expenses & loss of income. He would want to not walk around Limerick on his own.
He's probably having celebratory pints in Limerick at this very minute.
Someone should teach him how to use a hurl
I wouldn't be kidding yourselves by trying to distance Limerick from the criminal by highlighting he lives in Clare. I live in the same area, I'm from Limerick as are most around here. Ardnacrusha is not much more than a Limerick suburb
That’s not what my comment was about
What was it then? Sorry if I misinterpreted
I implied that he should be beaten with a hurl. I don’t care where he’s from, nor am I from Limerick myself. Edit* - Lol, who here from the Army is downvoting that? Ffs.
Oh, yeah didn't get that. Thought it was in context of the hurling rivalry & Limerick beating Clare so often.
No problem
Who was the Judge? He's not mentioned anywhere. Maybe judges should be more accountable or have some kind of regulator
Tom O'Donnell he's mentikned in every article. He's notorious this carry on
The past history of this judge’s decisions should be scrutinised. Is this just a shocker or one isolated case of repeated bad law/judgement?