Cathal Crotty to be released early after assault on Natasha O’Brien

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

Former soldier Cathal Crotty was to be released early from prison after serving more than a year and a half of his custodial sentence for assaulting Natasha O’Brien. The planned release was reported on 18 July 2026.

Crotty pleaded guilty to assault causing harm at Limerick Circuit Criminal Court. Judge Tom O’Donnell originally imposed a three-year sentence, suspended in full for three years on condition that Crotty pay O’Brien €3,000 within two years.

On 23 January 2025, the Court of Appeal upheld a Director of Public Prosecutions appeal that the sentence was unduly lenient. It imposed three years’ imprisonment, with the final 12 months suspended on condition that Crotty be of good behaviour for one year. Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy said the original sentence did not adequately reflect general deterrence.

On 29 May 2022, Crotty assaulted O’Brien on O’Connell Street in Limerick after she and a friend asked his group to stop shouting homophobic slurs. She lost consciousness and a passerby intervened. Crotty initially told gardaí he had acted in self-defence, but withdrew that account after being shown CCTV footage.

The Irish Examiner reported that, according to sources, Crotty was being released early because of good behaviour in prison. O’Brien said she had learned of the planned release through the media and hoped the prison service had provided him with support for rehabilitation.