{"id":551593,"date":"2026-07-15T21:12:16","date_gmt":"2026-07-15T21:12:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/551593\/"},"modified":"2026-07-15T21:12:16","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T21:12:16","slug":"ex-soldier-cathal-crotty-to-walk-free-in-days-a-year-and-a-half-after-being-jailed-for-attacking-natasha-obrien","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/551593\/","title":{"rendered":"Ex-soldier Cathal Crotty to walk free in days – a year and a half after being jailed for attacking Natasha O’Brien"},"content":{"rendered":"

Disgraced former soldier Cathal Crotty is due to be freed from prison next week, we can reveal.<\/p>\n

Crotty (23), who brutally beat Natasha O\u2019Brien in a case which shocked the country, <\/a>has a formal release date from Limerick Prison next Tuesday. It will mean he will have served a year and seven months of a two year jail sentence he received last January.<\/p>\n

It is understood Crotty is being released a number of months early thanks to standard remission and good behaviour behind bars. Sources say while he cannot be held beyond next Tuesday, he could be freed a few days earlier, over the weekend.<\/p>\n

\"Cathal<\/p>\n

Cathal Crotty at home in Ardnacrusha, Co Clare(Image: Brendan Gleeson)<\/p>\n

When contacted by The Irish Mirror prior to publication Natasha O’Brien was shocked to learn of Crotty\u2019s impending release.<\/p>\n

\u201cI most definitely have not been kept informed by the authorities. I\u2019m sure it won\u2019t come as a shock to anyone, that as a victim I\u2019ve been left in the dark yet again. This is the first I\u2019m hearing of it! Imagine that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Crotty, who was booted out of the Defence Forces when he was convicted, <\/a>had initially been handed down a fully suspended sentence in 2024 – but after public outrage the DPP successfully appealed it last January, arguing it was unduly lenient.<\/p>\n

The former Private Crotty randomly attacked Ms O\u2019Brien in a shocking incident in Limerick city in 2022. <\/a>Crotty beat Ms O\u2019Brien unconscious after she asked him to stop shouting gay slurs \u2014 and later boasted about it on social media writing: \u201cTwo to put her down, two to put her out.\u201d<\/p>\n

He later admitted his guilt after being shown CCTV footage. Ms O\u2019Brien\u2019s case shocked the country after Crotty initially received the three year suspended sentence. She has since gone on to become a prominent advocate for victims of assault and abuse, and appeared in her own documentary on RTE.<\/p>\n

\"Paul<\/p>\n

Paul Crotty (Father of Cathal) speaking to Paul Healy of the Irish Mirror at home in Ardnacrusha, Co Clare(Image: Brendan Gleeson)<\/p>\n

In 2024 the Irish Mirror tracked down Crotty at his home in Parkroe Heights in Ardnacrusha, Co Clare, following the initial suspended sentence.<\/p>\n

An angered Crotty first refused to engage with us, saying: \u201cI just don\u2019t trust you man. I just want this to be over. You\u2019ll twist my words.\u201d Crotty\u2019s father Paul meanwhile, went on at length to blame the media. \u201cI\u2019m his father. You know and I know it\u2019s the media that\u2019s put him here as well,\u201d he said at the time.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause in court he got his case squashed and a three-year suspended sentence. But it\u2019s the media that\u2019s put him further into it. Am I right? Yes I am. It\u2019s the public media that\u2019s incriminated him from here on in,\u201d he claimed. “It\u2019s the media that\u2019s put him here, not the court,” he continued.<\/p>\n

\"Natasha<\/p>\n

Natasha O’Brien (Image: Ayesha Ahmad)<\/p>\n

“The court has done his case, and this is the way it\u2019s gone. And now it\u2019s media, Snapchat, Facebook, RTE news, blah, blah, blah, after the fact. That’s what\u2019s going to drive him deeper down. Because if it was good news, you wouldn\u2019t be here. If it\u2019s bad news you would. That\u2019s the facts.\u201d<\/p>\n

After his father spoke for some time Cathal Crotty, who had retreated inside the house, shouted at his father and said: \u201cDad will you shut up talking there and send him away.\u201d<\/p>\n

Just weeks later Crotty was formally dismissed from the Defence Forces following an internal disciplinary process. Speaking out after the attack Ms O\u2019Brien told RTE it had left her in a \u201cplace of darkness\u201d and suffering symptoms of PTSD, requiring multiple therapist appointments.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just ended up spiralling into self-destructive behaviours, I lost all interest and motivation for life,\u201d she said at the time. \u201cI wasn\u2019t able to cope with reality, whether that was staying in bed for days or getting a bottle of wine.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said it was \u201cterrifying\u201d to see Crotty in court, adding: \u201cI couldn\u2019t even look\u201d. Ms O\u2019Brien said the justice system needed to change so that injured parties are represented by solicitors and barristers in criminal trials – not just the accused.<\/p>\n

She also said she was sick of reading cases whereby people were let out on the streets after committing violence. \u201cI am enraged for my nation more than for myself because this is much more bigger than me,\u201d Ms O\u2019Brien said. \u201cI was just someone that had the voice that was strong enough to stand up.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI would like to see some true justice, I would like to see some effective change in the Dail.\u201d Ms O\u2019Brien called for a fresh national debate about the rights of victims in the criminal justice system, which she indicated were seriously lacking.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is definitely something that should be opened up for an honest discussion,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest news from the Irish Mirror direct to your inbox: Sign up here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Disgraced former soldier Cathal Crotty is due to be freed from prison next week, we can reveal. Crotty…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":551594,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[45,54,80473,13308,61,60,11183,1396,49138,43],"class_list":["post-551593","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-an-garda-siochana","tag-courts","tag-criminal-courts-of-justice","tag-defence-forces","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-irish-prison-service","tag-limerick","tag-limerick-prison","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/551593","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=551593"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/551593\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/551594"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=551593"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=551593"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=551593"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}