Soldier beats a woman unconscious, gets a great reference from his commanding officer, avoids jail.

Well, exactly. A strange thing for a commanding officer to say about a soldier IMO. Sounds kind of needy!

I need cess-pit cleaned out - I’m still at two minds if he’s qualified enough

Some posters think we are unfair to Cmdt. Togher. I think it is telling how little consideration is given to the moral qualities for Natasha O’Brien who spoke up every powerfully outside the court and now on the media. No wonder this is getting international attention. What an image of Ireland, our courts and our military!
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cv22yw830w1o

This was not an “unprovoked attack”. Natasha tried to stop Crotty from yelling homophobic abuse at passers-by. Her civic spirit was rewarded by t being beaten unconscious. The Judge made no reference to this gravely aggravating aspect of the case which will surely be highlighted in the Tribunal of Inquiry into sexual harassment in the Defence Forces.

Fair play to her, she's not going quietly. I admire her for putting herself out there to shame the government into dealing with it, it can't be easy.

I wonder would she consider a career in politics in the future?

Genuinely shocked at this, what a shameful day for the country of Ireland. No better than Saudi Arabia at this rate just beat women and carry on. Hope that Judge has an eternity of sleepless nights, as small as a speck of dirt that man is.

As for the lad who beat the woman, I’d get banned for airing my opinion on him.

Media outside ireland have picked this story up too. He might have difficulty getting this info erased from the internet. His name is not a forgettable name either.

I listened to her interview on Drivetime earlier and I hope tonight she's in a good place surrounded by people who love her and care about her and that she is being buffered by the support of an entire nation.

A lack of justice or continuing injustice plays a role in ptsd symptoms and I know how significant closure is in helping process those traumatic experiences. I hope she's found some. It must be difficult too being in the spotlight under the circumstances and I'd say she'll be glad for it to be over at this stage.

And not a comment can be made or seen…

Opposite. His colleagues are trying to find any way possible to defend him and come up with excuses/reasoning i.e allegedly the girl hit him first etc

I absolutely cannot see the equity nor justice in the decision handed down by the judge in this instance. The man undertook a violent and sustained attack against a young woman unable to offer any defence and left her in fear for her life during the assault, and struggling to reconcile the violence inflicted upon her, with carrying on as normal.

There is a protest organised for tmrw in Limerick city and I'll be attending to show solidarity to Natasha O'Brien.

My wife, my sister's, my nieces all matter, violence against women cannot be left unanswered. The notion that someone gets a "free hit" to inflict serious harm upon someone? Has to be knocked on the head.

Emma Langford has penned a protest song that I think may well capture a lot frustration felt by victims of violence whose lack of justice is epitomised by Natasha.

I notice there’s a gofundme set up for Natasha O’Brien. It’s not clear who the organiser is / how he relates to the victim, apart from the sense of outrage shared by the public.

I’m so impressed by Natasha’s conduct. She comes across an extraordinary woman. Her openness in expressing her thoughts and experience publicly is a breath of fresh air in the midst of pure turmoil.

I had a creep with a knife following me as I walked home one night. I was actually prepared to die that night when he caught up with me on a quiet road. I count my blessings to have survived. He went on to rob others, another guy was stabbed. I was pretty shaken in a bad way by the ordeal. What Natasha went through was far, far worse than I experienced. I’ve all the more respect to her. Lucky she is still alive - her words will be a catalyst for big change.

Makes you wonder why don't the gards hold this kind of evidence till the court appearance then watch them squirm when the video evidence is shown to disprove his defense

isn’t a Judge, through education, acumen, & long experience, supposed to have, like, good judgement? Here, poor judgement was very much in evidence. The naivety of his failure to realise how the Defence Forces would not defend, per se, one of their ranks who is in dishonour.