‘So many other victims like me’ – Natasha O’Brien speaks to supporters as thousands protest attacker’s suspended sentence

Thousands of people attended events in Dublin, Cork, Galway and Limerick after Cathal Crotty, a serving member of the armed forces, was released from court after being given a three-year suspended sentence for the attack on Natasha O’Brien.

The 22-year-old, of Parkroe Heights, Ardnacrusha, Co Clare, pleaded guilty to assaulting Ms O’Brien in Limerick in 2022.

Ms O’Brien (24) criticised the three-year suspended sentence imposed on Crotty and said she felt let down by the justice system.

Natasha O’Brien speaks at the “No Justice No Peace Rosa” protest in Limerick

Ms O’Brien was cheered by participants as she spoke through a megaphone at the protest in Limerick city.

“I want to say that I am absolutely overwhelmed by your solidarity and your support. Without your anger, your outrage, your fear, your horror, this would not have been watched,” she told the crowd.

“And what happened to me has happened to so many – the absolute injustice of the Department of Justice.

“What happened to me was terrible. I was attacked extremely brutally by a soldier of the Irish Defence Forces. They are supposed to protect us.

“It is one thing to be the victim of a violent and heinous crime at the hands of a man sworn to protect the citizens of Ireland. But it is quite another for the Department of Justice and the armed forces to turn a blind eye to it and deport you.”

In an impassioned speech to thousands of protesters downtown, she told them: “I did not take that stand, confront my attacker, do that to myself and bare my soul to Judge Tom O’Donnell…”

At this point, dozens of supporters interrupted Ms. O’Brien’s speech and shouted the word “Shame!” before she continued:

“…to hear that he is glad he pleaded guilty and that I should be glad that he (Crotty) apologized because he got caught.”

She added: “And you have to hear that any prison sentence he would have received would have had an impact on his career in the armed forces.

“What about me, what about my life, what about so many victims like me?”

Ms O’Brien marched through the city with other protesters, with organisers chanting in unison: “One, two, three, four, we won’t take it anymore. Five, six, seven, eight, no more violence, no more hate. Not the courts, not the Gardaí, we are safe through solidarity.”

Natasha O’Brien marches at protests in Limerick

Large crowds also gathered in other cities on Saturday, many of them criticizing the suspended sentence.

Hundreds of people gathered outside The Spire in central Dublin to demand an end to gender-based violence and legal reforms in the way the justice system deals with gender-based crimes.

Men, women and children of all ages carried placards calling for an end to victim-blaming in courts and demanding justice for Ms O’Brien and other victims of gender-based violence.

The protesters marched from the Spire in O’Connell Street to the Ministry of Justice in St. Stephen’s Green.

Ruth Coppinger, a spokeswoman for the campaign group Rosa, said the whole country was outraged by the court’s decision.

Natasha O’Brien speaks at the “No Justice No Peace Rosa” protest in Limerick

Speaking at the protest in Dublin, Ms Coppinger said: “He pleaded guilty to the most brutal attack on a young woman. He was beaten unconscious, which had years of impact on her life, her job and her mental health, and was given a suspended sentence.”

“His career was above the impact of the violence on her and that says everything about the misogynistic verdicts that, to be honest, we see in court every day of the week, that’s not unusual.”

“We really need to bring this to the public’s attention. Cases like this are commonplace in court.”

“One in three rape cases ends with a partial or full suspended sentence. So that’s not unusual.”

“People may be reacting with shock and I think this has come to light because Natasha has spoken out and probably also because he is in the army.

“It has captured people’s imagination, but unfortunately this happens far too often.

“Maybe we should start by suspending a few judges who don’t understand the impact of violence against women or girls or LGBT+ people or on victims in general.”

“We urgently need dramatic changes.”

Protesters march in solidarity with a woman who was beaten unconscious by a soldier

Laura Fitzgerald, also of the organisation Rosa which organised the protests, said: “Women’s Aid has this week reported the highest number of reports of domestic violence in any year in 2023. That’s how widespread domestic violence is.”

Activist and women’s rights campaigner Ailbhe Smyth said: “This will not be the only time we stand here or march through the streets of Dublin to fight against violence against women.”

“Honestly, that’s enough. We’ve had enough. We will definitely not accept any more.”

“We will not stand by and watch a young woman who is already traumatized and hurt say: I will never be the same again. How sad can that be.”

“Her life was dragged through our courts, but she was brave enough to stand up and say that this must not happen again.”

People Before Profit MP Brid Smith said: “A few months ago I criticised a judge in the Dáil and you would have thought the world had collapsed.”

“The Minister for Justice (Helen McEntee), the Ceann Comhairle and the Taoiseach all said: ‘You must not say that, you must not criticise the judiciary’.”

“I was grilled for it.

“For them, it is a mortal sin to criticize a judge of this establishment.

“You appoint them.

“And because they appoint the judges, we have to judge them, and we will judge them at the next election and tell them their time is up.”

Taoiseach Simon Harris was among those who praised Ms O’Brien for coming forward and speaking out following Crotty’s attack.

Asked about the suspended sentence Crotty received, Harris said: “I find myself refusing to comment on the verdict of a court, although I could perhaps have said quite a lot, except to say this: the judicial process may not be over yet, as it is always possible for the prosecutor to appeal against a verdict and also to appeal against the mitigation of a sentence.”

“I have to be particularly careful in this regard.

“But we live in a country where there is still an epidemic of gender-based violence.”

In a statement on social media on Friday, the Irish Defence Forces said: “Any conviction by a civilian court may have implications for the continued employment and service of members of the Defence Forces as set out in the Defence Forces regulations.”

“Once due process of law is completed in a civil court, the matter becomes a matter for the competent authorities of the Defence Forces in accordance with the Defence Forces regulations.

“We can confirm that this process has begun and therefore it would not be appropriate to comment further on this specific case.”

Crotty is currently facing disciplinary proceedings by the armed forces, which could lead to his dismissal.