Soldier who abused two women now top advisor to global security firms
Women of Honour blast Defence Forces for ‘circling wagons’ around elite Ranger after Army fails to respond to MoS questions
A FORMER soldier and whistleblower has accused the Defence Forces of ‘circling the wagons’ to protect a member of the Army Ranger wing who rose through the ranks despite pleading guilty to assaulting two women.
Damien Mc Donough was demoted from corporal to private after he grabbed two women, one a civilian, by the head, exposed himself to them and then called one of them the ‘dog’s b **** x’.
However, the Irish Mail on Sunday can reveal Mr Mc Donough was later promoted and now sits on the board of several national and international security bodies.
Mr Mc Donough, who was wrongly called ‘McDonagh’ in the 2009 court martial ruling, is currently serving as a sergeant in the special forces Army Ranger unit.
He is also listed on the board of directors at the Security Institute of Ireland and is the Regional Director of the International Foundation for Protection Officers.
Contacted by the MoS, Mr Mc Donough said the incident ‘was one of the worst times of my life’. Since his demotion, the senior soldier said he has gone on to ‘completely and absolutely personally develop’ himself and is ‘extremely remorseful’.
However, security sources have questioned how someone with his record has been allowed to get the rank back and to lobby on behalf of security organisations for better community standards.
And former soldier and author Karina Molloy, who served for three decades in the Defence Forces, accused the Army of closto ing ranks to protect one of their own. She told the MoS: ‘The wagons have been circled there… it’s an old boys’ network working there to protect him.
‘He’s very lucky that it happened in the time line that it did, because as you know from the IRG [Independent Review Group] Report [published last March 2023 in response to allegations of discrimination, bullying, and sexual harassment in the Defence Forces] recommendation that the [Defence] Minister [Micheál Martin] agreed that all sexual assaults now go through the guards.
‘Because, having read what he did, it is classified as a criminal offence and he should have been discharged.
‘I am wondering why the civilian didn’t pursue it. I can understand the poor victim because she was just starting her career… what mental suffering has she had to deal with throughout her career knowing that he is still serving and got promoted?’
Ms Molloy, who suffered alleged sexual abuse throughout her career and detailed that in her book A Woman in
Defence, now campaigns about military sexual trauma, which she said the Defence Forces still has not ‘approved or acknowledged’.
She added: ‘It’s a trauma that people suffer for a life term. The British, Canadian, America and Australian armies have all acknowledged it now, and that it what I am aiming to get done.’
In June 2009, Mr Mc Donough pleaded guilty to assaulting a civilian woman by putting his hands around her head and pulling it towards him.
The court martial heard he also admitted charges of conduct prejudicial to good order and discipline contrary to the
Defence Act. These included grabbing a female private by her head and exposing himself in front of the women.
He admitted he used inappropriate language towards the civilian woman – calling her a ‘dog’s b **** x’ – and, at the same venue, becoming involved in an affray with another soldier. He was later fined €500 and demoted.
In 2011, he lost a challenge to his demotion to the rank of private. A three-judge Court-Martial Appeal Court rejected his arguments that the demotion was disproportionate as it would lead to a €6,500 loss in salary a year.
The appeal court also noted Mr Mc Donough told the military judge he had consumed great quantities of alcohol from 2pm on the day of the incident – which occurred at a military function at a hotel in Drogheda, Co Louth, on St Patrick’s Day in 2007. He unreservedly apologised for the conduct he freely acknowledged was unacceptable.
The court acknowledged the strong supporting evidence of good character and also recognised his actions may have been once-off offending behaviour fuelled by excessive alcohol. However, the court said it could see no other choice but to uphold the demotion.
Mr Mc Donough, now aged 40, was a decorated Army Ranger who served in Liberia and Kosovo. Asked this week how his Army rank was reinstated and how he is able sit on a number of boards despite the court martial ruling, Mr Mc Donough told the MoS: ‘I don’t know how to answer that really to be honest with you. I don’t see what the relevance is.
‘That was one of the worst times of my life. I [have since] completely, absolutely, personally developed myself, [am] extremely remorseful of what happened and [have] rebranded myself and worked on myself professionally and personally. It’s a part of my life I wish never happened for all parties involved.’
Asked why his name is spelt differently on the court martial ruling, he replied: ‘The administration errors are out of my control. This [court martial] was well documented at the time, and I have been completely transparent.’
Mr Mc Donough said he now believes ‘drunken behaviour is just not acceptable anywhere, and I use that as a learning experience’. He added: ‘That’s what it is. I don’t think I’ve got anything else to say. It’s a time from my life I’ve moved on from.’
In response to queries from the MoS, Defence Forces Press Officer Commandant Conor Hurley said it ‘cannot confirm the identity of any individual who might be serving with the Army Ranger Wing (ARW) as the identities of members are SECRET’.
When it was pointed out Mr Mc Donough was previously identified in the court martial ruling which was widely reported in the media at the time, Cmdt Hurley said they had ‘nothing further to add’.
The Defence Forces would not say if it gave Mr Mc Donough approval to sit on the boards of security organisations.
It also did not respond to a query asking how Mr Mc Donough’s name was spelt incorrectly in the court martial ruling.
The Security Institute of Ireland and the International Foundation for Protection Officers did not respond to queries.
‘It’s an old boys’ network working to protect him’
‘It’s a time of my life I’ve moved on from’