Attack and conviction that shocked the nation

After a drunken attack, Crotty told his friends on Snapchat: “Two to put her down, two to kick her out.” »

And what shocked people even more was that Crotty was released from court, having been granted a suspended sentence following pleas from his superior at Sarsfield Barracks, Limerick.

Commander Paul Togher testified that Crotty was an “exemplary,” “courteous,” “professional” and “disciplined” officer. When asked for his reaction to the evidence of the attack, Commander Togher said he was “exceptionally disappointed and surprised”.

This was, in his opinion, “completely unusual” for the accused. Crotty, as a soldier, “is supposed to keep people safe.”

Disappointment is perhaps the least of the emotions that must be felt in this case, which came in the same week that Women’s Aid — in its annual report — said it had received a record 40,000 reports of domestic violence, a level which she described as “tiering”.

The court heard the victim, Natasha O’Brien, aged 24, of North Circular Rd, Limerick, was walking home with a friend after finishing her shift at a pub, when Crotty attacked her after that she “politely” asked him to stop shouting homophobic slurs at other people in the street.

He grabbed her by the hair, knocked her to the ground and continued to hit her as she lost consciousness. She suffered a broken nose and bruises, and has suffered from nightmares and panic attacks ever since. She told the judge she thought Crotty was going to kill her.

Her attacker initially told Gardaí that his victim had instigated the attack, but admitted his guilt after CCTV footage showed him attacking Ms O’Brien without provocation.

Tánaiste Micheál Martin unequivocally condemned the “vicious” attack and confirmed that the Defense Force had launched its own internal processes to deal with Crotty’s case.

Taoiseach Simon Harris praised Ms O’Brien for speaking out against her attacker. He said it was very important for victims to come forward.

“There is still far too much violence against women in our country. As Taoiseach, as a parent, as the father of a daughter, I want to create a very different society for young women to grow up in,” Mr Harris said.

Leaders from both parties stressed that there are active procedures within the Defense Force and that the DPP has the opportunity to appeal convictions he considers lenient.

In her witness statement, Ms O’Brien said: “I felt completely helpless, I felt like I was being used as a punching bag, I didn’t feel human. »

Judge Tom O’Donnell said the “landmark” sentence in the case was five years and clearly explained his reasons for imposing a lower tariff.

However, anyone who wants to encourage victims to approach the criminal justice system for redress may feel like something is wrong on this occasion.

First citizens of all political stripes

While many headlines have been generated this week by the inauguration of Limerick’s first directly elected mayor, Cork city has its own reasons to celebrate the more traditional methods of appointing its first citizens.

The departure of Councilor Kieran McCarthy will be a sad moment for all those who appreciated his impromptu humour, his deep knowledge of the city’s history and culture and his penchant for breaking into song at every opportunity.

Just as important is the obvious pleasure with which he and his mayor, Marcelline Bonneau, were received by the children of the many schools they visited.

They will have a lovely memorabilia picture book to commemorate their tenure which covered approximately 1,600 events.

In an eloquent farewell speech, Mr. McCarthy spoke revealingly about the importance of local democracy and all those “pilgrims” – including voters – who participate in it.

To the councilors who returned to the Town Hall for the new legislature, he recalled the people they were able to meet on the pilgrims’ path.

“You immediately met people who became friends with you. You’ve encountered people who shut the door in your face. You met people who had their own message.

“You have met people who are happy, who are sad, who are very angry, who shout in your face, who do not want to talk, who struggle in life, who are looking for a listener, who are looking for a chance, who fly through life, who buried a loved one an hour before your call, a mother who has just put her child to sleep, people who invite you for tea.

“You have met opinionated people and opinionless people, people who are the salt of the earth, people who are guardian angels, people who you may have mourned in your private moments, people with whom you laughed, people who invited you into their lives. home to discuss this and that.

“You met some survivors. You have met people who have given up on life. You have met people who are beacons.

If Rodgers and Hammerstein were still around to put this to music, they would have a natural sequel with the story of Dan Boyle, the first member of the Green Party to be appointed mayor of Cork, and his deputy, Honore Kamegni, the first black man to be elected to the municipal council.

Mr. Boyle is a veteran campaigner on environmental issues. He was first elected to Cork City Council in 1991, and re-elected in 1999, 2019 and 2024. He was a TD from 2002 to 2007 and a senator from 2007 to 2011.

Mr Kamegni is originally from Cameroon, has lived in Cork for 22 years and works as a postman. He said he was inspired to run for office when he saw a photo of city councilors “without a single black face.”

Good luck to them.

Maybe they could open the next meeting with a song from The sound of music in the style favored by their predecessor: “Climb every mountain, cross every stream, follow every rainbow, until you find your dream.” »