MEMBERS of the legal profession defended and led tributes to long-serving Limerick Circuit Criminal Court judge Tom O’Donnell, who retired in controversy last week.
Judge O’Donnell, whose career spanned across 47 years – beginning as a criminal defence solicitor, before becoming a judge at the District Court and the Circuit Court – was sharply criticised by some for imposing a fully suspended three-year jail sentence on soldier Cathal Crotty.
Mr Crotty (22), from Ardnacrusaha, County Clare, beat unconscious Limerick woman Natasha O’Brien in a vicious and unprovoked attack in Limerick City and later boasted about it on social media, Judge O’Donnell heard.
However, a leading male criminal barrister, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that Judge O’Donnell “did the State some service” for his years on the bench dealing with thousands of criminal cases.
The barrister described some of the public commentary on Judge O’Donnell following the Crotty sentence as “appalling, outrageous, and unfair”.
“(Judge O’Donnell) was always very fair, and he was always a great believer in the concept of rehabilitation – particularly when it came to persons who had difficulties with addictions.”
The Crotty sentence sparked protests nationwide, organised by the socialist feminist group ROSA, in support of Ms O’Brien and called for legal reforms and an end to gender-based violence.
Paying tribute to the now retired judge, Junior Counsel Erin O’Hagan said that he had been “an absolute pleasure to appear before, and an exceptional gentleman outside of the court”.
Ms O’Hagan said Judge O’Donnell’s “very long-standing career should not be dismissed” because of a single decision.
‘I have great sympathy for him because he was such an exceptional judge’
Ms O’Hagan said Judge O’Donnell had helped to ensure the safety of the Limerick public when the Treaty City was in the grips of a murderous gang feud in the early 2000s, and when shootings, stabbings, pipe, and petrol bomb attacks were a regular occurrence.
“When crime in Limerick was through the roof and people were afraid to leave their houses, Judge O’Donnell kept the streets of Limerick safe for a very long time, and that’s not to be forgotten,” said Ms O’Hagan.
She described as “horrendous and very inaccurate” some of the public reaction aimed at Judge O’Donnell.
“I have great sympathy for him because he was such an exceptional judge, and he deserves to have a better send of,” she said.
Junior Counsel Yvonne Quinn BL described Judge O’Donnell as “a decent and kind man”.
Ms Quinn said the judge had been “dedicated to his job” and, in her opinion, he had showed “a tireless commitment on the bench”.
Criminal defence solicitor Sarah Ryan, who had acted on behalf of Cathal Crotty during his sentencing hearing, said she was saddened at some of the public reaction to Judge O’Donnell.
“Some of the words used to describe the decision made have the capacity to put his safety at risk,” warned Ms Ryan.
The solicitor said that, in her opinion, some commentators had labelled “an inherently decent, polite, and conscientious man to be many things that he has not shown himself to be”.
‘A model of courtesy, impartiality, fair-mindedness, and humanity’
An experienced male barrister, who did not wish to be identified, said Judge O’Donnell had “expertly dealt with a huge volume of criminal cases” in his time on the bench.
“He was a compassionate judge and a model of courtesy, impartiality, fair-mindedness, and humanity,” the barrister said.
Judge O’Donnell told Crotty’s sentencing hearing, which also heard an emotional victim impact statement delivered by Ms O’Brien, who told the court she had lost her job because of the trauma of the attack, that he had “no doubt” Crotty would have lost his job in the Defence Forces had he received an immediate prison sentence.
The judge said that, when deciding Crotty’s sentence, he took into account that Crotty had no previous convictions, and that he had pleaded guilty – albeit only after he was shown CCTV footage of the attack, and only after he had initially tried to deflect blame onto Ms O’Brien.
Ms O’Brien criticised Judge O’Donnell for the manner in which the sentence was imposed, the rationale for it, and “the insensitivity” which she felt the court had shown her.
Ms O’Brien said it had sent out a message to people that they could get away with harming others without facing jail or serious consequences.
She said she did not blame the judge – it was, she said, the entire legal system that had “discarded” her after Crotty’s sentence was imposed, and he (Crotty) walked out of court a free man.
The Defence Forces initiated proceedings against Crotty following the sentence, however, when asked about this, a spokesman for the army said they could not comment on individual cases.
