Fergus Finlay: I would like to meet Natasha O'Brien and tell her how very sorry I am
Natasha O'Brien with her mother, Anne, attending a protest in Limerick.
There are times — maybe not all that often — when everyone who has a pen and a platform needs to speak and write with one voice. Times when there is simply no room for dissent. Times when especially every man with a pen and a platform needs to say the same thing as every other man. With no equivocation. No “what-aboutery”. No room for argument.
The brutal assault of Natasha O’Brien was one such moment. A savage act of violence perhaps changed her life forever, and she was then further traumatised by the outcome of the subsequent court case when her attacker walked free. And it’s our fault. The fault of every man in Ireland, including me. I can’t apologise for anyone but me, but I would really like to meet Natasha and tell her how sorry I am.
