Former Irish soldier jailed for assault after suspended sentence overturned

Cathal Crotty, who received a suspended three-year sentence last year after pleading guilty to the 2022 assault of Natasha O’Brien, was sentenced to two years in prison today, Thursday, January 23.

The decision comes after the Director of Public Prosecutions lodged an appeal against Crotty's suspended sentence on the grounds that it was too lenient.

Crotty has been handed a three-year sentence with the final 12 months suspended for a year on condition that he enter a bond to be of good behaviour.

The 23-year-old from Parkroe Heights, Ardnacrusha, Co Clare was taken into custody after Thursday's ruling.

O'Brien was present in court on Thursday.

Last year, Crotty pled guilty to beating O'Brien unconscious after she had asked him to stop using homophobic slurs in Co Limerick on May 29, 2022.

After his attack, Crotty, who was off-duty at the time, boasted to friends on social media: “Two to put her down, two to put her out."

Crotty initially tried to blame O'Brien for instigating the incident but entered a guilty plea after being confronted with CCTV evidence. 

In June 2024, Judge Tom O’Donnell handed down a suspended sentence at Limerick Circuit Court, noting Crotty's lack of previous convictions, his guilty plea, and the impact that a custodial sentence could have on his army career. 

The judge also ordered Crotty to pay O'Brien €3,000 in compensation.

The suspended sentence sparked protests across Ireland in addition to conversations about violence against women and Irish prison sentencing, with O'Brien saying it was "not justice."

After the suspended sentence was handed down, the Irish Defence Forces announced it had begun the process of dismissing Crotty. He was officially discharged in July 2024.

The Director of Public Prosecutions also announced it would be lodging an appeal of Crotty's suspended sentence.

Speaking after Thursday's ruling, O'Brien said: "The gravity of the sentence has absolutely overwhelmed me and I definitely didn't come in this morning expecting this at all.

"But, for today, for the first time in an Irish court, I feel seen and heard. I felt acknowledged.

"It's just a total contrast to how I felt leaving that courthouse last June; it's been a total 180."

"The courts have sent a message today, they have sent a message loud and clear: Violence will no longer be tolerated against anyone in this country."

- Natasha O'Brien at the CCJ today. pic.twitter.com/RoZpfigsey

— Courts News Ireland (@courtsnewsIRL) January 23, 2025