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

This is a really strange argument. Women started those organisations to "fight their corner" because men had organised society in a way that used the law to keep women subservient.

If you think things have gone too far the other way, well what's stopping you from doing what those brave women did, and defy society's "rules" to start your own organisation. I mean, unlike women wanting the right to vote, I don't think the police would force feed you for doing so. Do you?

"The reason why this situation is highlighting gender based violence is because in itself is so triggering to women who have experienced the same on a day to day basis in domestic abuse scenarios."

I doubt domestic abuse victims are being "triggered" by news of a random assault by a stranger on the street. There's no evidence that it was a "gender-based" assault.

About a third of the perpetrators of abuse in the home are women. Are their male victims also being triggered or is it just the female victims? 

A tiny minority of men did that (with wives who very happy to keep the status quo as they wined and dined in their mansions)

On the same day that millions of women were given the right to vote in the UK and Ireland, millions of men were also given the same right as you had to own land to vote.

The millions of men that were forcibly sent to meat grinder during WW1 and managed to survive (albeit with life altering mental and physical anguish) couldn't even vote.

Im sure you're well aware of all this, however.

I just read what our politicians said about this guy in the Dail today. They are just short of canonising OBrien and orchestrating a public hanging on Leinster st for crotty.

Not minimising what happen her but it's not his fault he got the sentence he got. If the DPP want to appeal it grand,but how is he going to get a fair hearing in court with all that's being said about him by government ministers.

It's not just female victims of domestic abuse though.

EVERYBODY is distressed, angered and frustrated at the suspended sentence.

It's like they don't realise that power to build a new prison(s) or reform minimum sentences lies in their own hands …

I'm speaking of any appeal by that DPP. That won't be discussing whether he's guilty or not. That's already proven.

I never thought a Taoiseach would speak so harshly about the Defence Forces but, as he makes clear, he would have spoken even more harshly but for the ongoing legal issue. No one in Leinster House would disagree with him. The military only have themselves to blame.

“But I think this has also shone a very serious light in relation to the Defence Forces. I think it raises very grave and serious questions. There can be no hiding place in the Defence Forces, nor indeed, in my view, any place for anyone in the Defence Forces who has been convicted of domestic, sexual or gender based violence.”

Will we hear from the Supreme Commander of the Defence Forces?

It’s six years now since he called for urgent action to end violence against women and all that time there was terrible violence inflicted on women by members of the Defence Forces. He is even the “Champion World Leader” of the UN Men for Women campaign. Silence is not an option for the Aras.

https://www.irishtimes.com/crime-law/courts/2024/06/25/plans-to-pay-tribute-to-retiring-judge-cancelled-due-to-controversy-over-cathal-crotty-sentence/

The woman is the victim here 100%.

But has there ever been a case where there has been such a national protest against a 20 year old at the time of the assault who pleaded guilty in court and had to take whatever sentence the Judge passed.

I think he should have gone to prison for the assault especially with what he posted after. Everybody will try and stay out of prison - that's only normal.

TBH if that was me think I would prefer have gone to prison and probably get a minor mention on the day instead of what is happening now and everybody knowing my name address face and what I did

A drunken thug and his tin-eared Commanding Officer have done more damage to the reputation of our Defence Forces than any operational failure in its history.

Wait til the Chief of Staff appears before the Oireachtas Committee on Defence. The politicians will take slices off him if he tries to wash his hands of this.

An “It’ll blow over” strategy will blow up in their faces.

https://x.com/rtenews/status/1805600760190714350?s=61&t=5yJYlU_Z5hOpPzF4_D53ZA

My comments refer to what the leaders of our government said today.

It's most definitely not a "lynching" if he gets prison time as a result of a public outcry. There's no question that he committed a violent assault that could have killed the woman in question. So the fact he isn't currently facing any prison sentence is more an example of the system failing. The case being reassessed is entirely fair and any jail time will remain within guidelines for convictions so.

So it's a rebalancing where he might face more prison time than if the judge had given him two years or something in the first place. But it will still very much follow the rules of our justice system. He's not gonna face any sentence that is greater than what can be given for such an assault so no, he isn't suddenly a victim if he faces a harsher sentence.

It's very evident that the justice system is not being allowed he independent of government. The government has effectively told the DPP to appeal and the army to get rid of him irrespective of fair procedure going on the comments of Simon Harris today.

While I believe he should have been jailed, the government and legal system are bowing to public pressure and the justice system is being told what to do instead of being independent.

There is no political will in Ireland to build more prisons, despite the almost 50% increase in our population in the past 30 years (!) and regular outbursts of public anger at lenient sentencing and violent crime which make women afraid to walk home.

No political party has made this an issue at the recent elections, not even the plethora of new so-called "far-right" parties (some of their leaders might end up there!). No party will change their policy because of this case.

Prisons as we operate them are so expensive it would be cheaper to send the criminals to an all-inclusive resort and the prisons probably do more harm than good for the prisoners. Recidivism is rampant and would be much worse except that younger prisoners grow up enough to get some sense.

The only serious effort to build a new prison - Thornton Hall - was a fiasco of epic proportions and is now being turned into a camp site for asylum seekers.