Soldier called her superior ‘a psycho’, Army court hears

A LONG-serving soldier and mother of three has appeared before a military court for referring to a superior officer as a ‘psycho’.

Private Margaret Walsh, 41, part of An Chéad Cathlán, or First Battalion, based in the Dún Ui Mhaoilíosa barracks, Galway, admitted to making the remark at a summary court martial hearing in Dublin.

Private Walsh has served overseas on four occasions as part of her 21 years of service in the Defence Forces, the military court in the McKee Barracks, Dublin 7, heard. She has received two medals.

On March 1, 2016, while speaking with her company commander about a colleague, Private Walsh said: ‘We all know that she’s a psycho.’ She made this ‘unsubstantiated’ comment in relation to a superior officer who was highly regarded and has since gone on to pursue a civilian career, Commander Pat Burke, prosecuting, said.

He said the comment was made following an incident between Private Walsh and the superior officer. ‘There was a clash of personalities and the commandant was trying to get to the bottom of it when the comment was made,’ Commander Burke said.

Fergus O’Regan, solicitor for Private Walsh, said his client made the comment ‘in a more rounded discussion’. ‘She was careless in how she expressed herself,’ Mr O’Regan continued, adding that Private Walsh apologised for the comment.

Company Sergeant John Kilroy gave evidence as a character witness on behalf of Private Walsh.

He said she trained under him, and then worked as the company’s clerk. He added: ‘I never had any issues with her and her work.’

At a previous disciplinary hearing on December 22, 2016, Private Walsh was fined one day’s pay for the comment she made. At yesterday’s appeal hearing, military judge Colonel Michael Campion upheld this punishment, saying the remark ‘showed elements of defiance and disrespect for authority’.