Micheál Martin confirms Defence Forces probe into soldier who beat Limerick woman
The Tánaiste and Defence Minister Micheál Martin has condemned unequivocally the violent and vicious assault on Natasha O’Brien by a serving Irish soldier and confirmed that the Defence Forces has launched an internal process to deal with her attacker.
Cathal Crotty, 22, of Parkroe Heights, Ardnacrusha, Co Clare, beat Ms O’Brien unconscious in a random street attack, and boasted about it afterwards on social media. He walked free from a court on Wednesday after getting a fully suspended sentence.
He had initially tried to blame the innocent victim, Ms O’Brien, 24, by wrongly telling the gardaí who arrested him that she had instigated the attack at O’Connell Street, Limerick, on May 29, 2022.
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 on Wednesday.
Speaking in Cork on Friday, Mr Martin praised Ms O’Brien for her bravery and condemned the assault.
“It was vicious. It was unprovoked and I want to commend the bravery, the courage and the dignity of Natasha O’Brien in the face of such an assault, and for the way in which she has conducted herself since,” he said.
“I am conscious that the judicial process may not be complete and I can’t comment any further because it could prejudice any future deliberations at that level.”
He also moved to explain the presence of a superior officer in the courtroom on Wednesday. He said that officer, Commandant Paul Togher, was there under Defence Forces regulations.
“When a member of the Defence Forces is before the courts, there is an obligation that a commanding officer would have an officer in court for two purposes — one, to co-operate with the court if the court requires and sometimes an officer can be cross-examined and was on this occasion by both defence and the prosecution, and to provide whatever material is on the file to the court, and secondly to report back to the Defence Forces in terms of what actually transpired in court,” he said.
He also confirmed that he has spoken to the Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces who has confirmed that a separate internal process is now underway in relation to Crotty.
He declined to go into detail on whether or not it could be described as a disciplinary process but said the process is governed by Defence Forces regulations.
“I have read them myself in terms of what happens when the member of the Defence Forces is before the civilian authorities, before the courts. There is a very clear process in place in terms of how the military responds to that. And that is now underway.”
He said Defence Forces personnel are fundamentally trained to protect civilians and to protect society and to keep people safe.
“Those are the values of our Defence Forces. I am very conscious of that, so is everybody involved in the Defence Forces,” he said. “I can’t prejudice any process that is underway and one is underway and we have to allow that now to be concluded.”
