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ASSAULT victim Natasha O’Brien says she never intended her attacker to be so vilified, telling us: “That wasn’t fair.”
The Limerick woman, 25, was viciously beaten by 23-year-old former soldier Cathal Crotty in May 2022.
He was handed a suspended sentence at Limerick Circuit Court in June 2024 — leading to mass demonstrations nationwide.
The DPP successfully appealed its leniency and Crotty, who was sacked by the Army, was caged for two years in January.
But Natasha admits Crotty’s jailing left her very conflicted.
She told The Irish Sun: “A year ago I never felt listened to. My physical and mental scars were not considered by the court and handing him a suspended sentence completely compounded everything for me.
“Then the DPP appealed it and for the first time in an Irish court I felt listened to and the court decided to send him to jail. But I took no pleasure in seeing a young man being led away to prison. In fact, I found the experience quite unsettling.
“He made a mistake. Yes, it was a very bad mistake but he’s not the only person who’s done something like this and so many others don’t get punished at all.
“He was so vilified and became this poster boy for gender-based violence and that wasn’t fair because he’s not the only one.
“And who knows what effect all of this has had on him and his family? This young man’s life is now destroyed and I found myself asking the question: Is all of this my fault? Am I to blame for ruining this man’s life?”
She added: “If the courts had done its job in the first place then maybe he wouldn’t have been so vilified in its aftermath or become this poster boy for the whole movement.
“So I think in many ways he became a second victim of this very flawed justice system.”
Natasha was attacked after finishing a shift at a Limerick pub. She had asked Crotty to stop using homophobic language.
He grabbed her by the hair and pushed her to the ground, before punching her in the face until she lost consciousness.
Vile Crotty later boasted on Snapchat: “Two to put her down, two to knock her out.”
Natasha was attacked just months after Ashling Murphy was murdered by Jozef Puska.
And ahead of a documentary on Natasha airing on RTE 1 at 9.35pm tonight, she said: “I know how lucky I was. I had a brain injury and who knows, maybe one more punch and I might not have been so lucky.
“And it came so soon after Ashling Murphy died so it made me very aware that things could have been very different.
“But when the protests began and the demonstrations that I spoke at, I had to be a voice for so many others who didn’t have one. There are so many women, and men, who suffer every day and aren’t able to speak out.
“If one small thing came from my case, it’s that maybe it has helped others to be able to speak out or come forward. And if that has happened then everything has been so worth it.”
GARDAI believe a delivery driver was killed in a targeted hit-and-run as part of a dispute involving members of the Roma community which had been “simmering” for weeks.
Mircea Rostas, aged in his 30s, was mowed down during an evening of chaos on Monday in Balbriggan in north Co Dublin, which then sparked retaliatory incidents as the feud exploded.
Victim Rostas was on foot when he was struck by a BMW on Railway Street in the town just after 9pm.
As bystanders rushed to his aid, family members came upon the scene and screamed in horror.
Grim footage of Rostas lying lifeless on the path emerged yesterday, with one man attempting to carry out CPR before ambulance personnel arrived but unfortunately could not save his life.
The car which had fled that scene was then struck by another vehicle being driven by associates of Rostas right outside Balbriggan Garda Station before a huge scuffle then broke out.
The chief suspect in the case knew Rostas well and gardai believe it is a dispute over an associate known to both of them.
The man, aged in his 40s, spoke to cops yesterday morning and was arrested by appointment.
The Irish Sun can reveal that he is suspected of carrying out an assault linked to the same dispute some weeks ago.
A source told the Irish Sun: “This is a local feud which has been ongoing for a period of time, with tensions building.
“Then it totally kicked off on Monday night. The hit and run incident was callous and clearly targeted.
“There were then other incidents which happened as a result. It was absolute mayhem for the gardai there.
“Those involved, and the man who lost his life, are all very well known to each other.”
Last night sources said they could not rule out that the case will be upgraded to murder given the nature of the incident.
Rostas’ body remained at the scene, covered by a blue tent, as the Garda Technical Bureau carried out an examination yesterday morning.
His remains were then taken away by ambulance just before 11.30am ahead of a post mortem being carried out.
A second scene outside Balbriggan Garda Station was sealed off as damaged cars from the ramming incident were seized by gardai.
An incident room was established at Balbriggan Garda Station and a Senior Investigating Officer was appointed. A Garda Family Liaison Officer was also assigned and is providing support to the deceased’s family.
Local cllr Tony Murphy told the Irish Sun: “It’s absolutely devastating to have a situation where somebody has been knocked down and that the driver didn’t remain at the scene.
“And what I would offer my condolences to the deceased family and friends in the first instance is one thing for the town to wake up to news like this.
“But it’s another thing for a family to wake up to the devastating news that they’ve lost one of their family members.
“I trust 100 per cent of the Gardaí in Balbriggan that they will unravel whatever has happened in this situation and they will take the appropriate action.”
A garda spokesman said: “Gardaí are appealing to anyone who may have witnessed the incident to come forward.
“Any road users or pedestrians who may have camera footage (including dash-cam) from the area at the time are asked to make it available to Gardaí.
“Anyone with information is asked to contact Balbriggan Garda Station on 01 666 4500, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any Garda station.”
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