Ireland’s Taoiseach has said he was “really angry” after a soldier who boasted about beating a woman unconscious in the street avoided a jail sentence.
Simon Harris was speaking after protests erupted across Ireland over the case, including one attended by the victim, Natasha O’Brien.
Ms O’Brien, 24, was punched repeatedly by Cathal Crotty, 22, in an unprovoked attack in May 2022.
She suffered a broken nose and bruising in the assault in Limerick city centre and said she believed Crotty was going to kill her.
Last Thursday, Crotty walked free from Limerick Circuit Criminal Court with a suspended three-year jail sentence.
Judge Tom O’Donnell said an immediate prison sentence would have ended Crotty’s army career.