Latest news with #LiamO'Brien
The Irish Sun
21-06-2025
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
I'm Irish skater hoping to qualify for my first Winter Olympics – my previous bid led to me learning whole new language
LIAM O'BRIEN'S mam and dad — from Cavan and Meath respectively — met at a GAA club in Australia. And that is just about the only conventional thing about the speed skater's sporting story. Advertisement 3 Liam O'Brien is targeting the 2026 Winter Olympics Credit: Shauna Clinton/Sportsfile 3 He missed out on Beijing due to injury Credit: Shauna Clinton/Sportsfile 3 Winter Olympic athletes, back row, from left, Sean McAnuff, Liam O'Brien, Cormac Comerford, with front row, from left, Elle Murphy, Elsa Desmond and Thomas Maloney Westgaard Credit: Shauna Clinton/Sportsfile Many of us took up hobbies during Covid-19. O'Brien? Well, he learned Korean, as the only way of staying in the country to train in a bid to qualify for the He was bidding to emulate his sister Danielle who he had watched represent O'Brien explained: 'I moved to South Korea , in Seongnam just outside Seoul, and was stuck there during Covid, so I ended up going to Dankook University . Advertisement Read More on Winter Olympics 'I didn't choose it. When Covid hit, there were no visas and so my only way to secure a visa was through study and I decided to learn Korean. 'I wanted to train out of Korea and to qualify for the Beijing Olympics and that was my only option, to learn Korean and be there training. 'It's not the normal route, but yeah, I'm fluent in Korean now.' That, unsurprisingly, took time after being thrown in at the deep end. He recalled: 'That course was taught purely in Korean, and I hadn't actually learned the language up until that stage and was given 24 hours before I had to do my first exam. Advertisement Most read in Other Sports 'I knew how to sound things out, but I didn't know how to write them, so I spent 24 hours learning the alphabet and how to put them all together because it's different symbols where it forms one character. So that was an interesting afternoon.' He has since followed his coach Lee Kwang Soo to Tianjin outside Beijing but has ruled out trying to master another language. Meet snowboarding's Mia Brookes - the metal-loving record-breaking champ targeting Winter Olympics gold Making himself understood was not the only challenge he faced during a lockdown in a foreign country. He explained: 'I think everyone around the world was a bit isolated there with the quarantining and the masks and not being able to go outside a certain radius. Advertisement 'And you weren't actually able to buy masks. 'They had them on the shelves at first and they were all sold out and then they released that you could only buy five per week. 'You'd have to line up and buy them. But if there were none left, then there were no masks. 'Other places were giving them out, however you needed the Korean visa ID card and at that stage I hadn't gotten the card so there were a few months there where I was without masks. Advertisement 'My girlfriend at the time actually, her mother had bought some online, and she gave me a handful of them so I was using those.' 'There was an Under-16s Cricket World Cup, I think it was in Dubai at that time and I was thinking of coming across. But with skating and everything else, it just never worked out.' The hope was that all of those sacrifices and challenges would be rewarded with a spot at the Olympics but this particular chapter does not have a happy ending. He said: 'I was progressing really well. Unfortunately, nine weeks before the qualifiers for Beijing, I tore my ACL. 'So that was a big setback. I tried to keep myself entertained and not think about it at first. Advertisement 'I was given 12 weeks of no sport whatsoever, no walking, nothing. However, I was back on the ice within four weeks. 'And that was after being in a brace with my knee and not able to walk. I was unlucky. I missed out by one spot in the end. So there were 36 qualified for the 1500m and we placed 37th.' He is hoping for better luck this time around as he bids to book his spot for Milano Cortina but the route there is not straightforward. Although he prefers longer distances and Seán McAnuff, the other Irish skater competing at that level, favours shorter ones, they are competing for the one place and O'Brien is not sure what criteria will be applied if they post comparable results. But he remains undeterred, fuelled by wanting to follow in the grooves left by his sister, nine years his senior, as he first did as a toddler. Advertisement He recalled: 'She went to a birthday party at an ice rink and just loved skating and kept hassling mum wanting to go back. 'And so she started ice figure skating and someone said, 'Would you think about doing ice dance?' 'So she went into ice dance and when I was born, I was just born into an ice rink, so I started skating at the age of three, figure skating, and then slowly moved into speed skating. 'At the age of ten I gave up figure skating, it wasn't for me, so it was purely speed skating.' Advertisement PARTNER IN THRIVE When Liam was 15, he travelled to the Russian city and watched his sister and partner Gregory Merriman — who welcomed their first child Myla Grace last month — come 20th. He said: 'After watching her compete at the Olympics, it really drove me to want to become an Olympic athlete as well. 'It was only after that that I'd really seen the goal and that target there in short track speed skating as well and really went for it then.' It meant ditching other sports. Although he dabbled in He said: 'Growing up, I was always playing football or cricket . Advertisement 'I actually went to a school for cricket, a sports school there and I was playing great cricket at the same time. I was a wicketkeeper batsman. I tended to bat at the top of the order but I wasn't very good at working the ball around. 'There was an Under-16s Cricket World Cup , I think it was in Dubai at that time and I was thinking of coming across. But with skating and everything else, it just never worked out.' Initially, he represented Australia too but, as proud as his folks were of their daughter's achievements, he admitted his mother Mary takes particular pride that he now competes for his ancestral home. He said: 'She loves it. Mum's always joked about — I wouldn't say joked about it, she was quite serious — but she always wanted Danielle to represent Ireland as well. However, growing up in Australia, we never saw that connection — not the connection but there was never an association to start with when we were there.' Advertisement A meeting between his dad Seán and Karen O'Sullivan — chief executive of the Ice Skating Association of Ireland, established in 2007 — helped provide the pathway. He said: 'We've kept in contact ever since and when the opportunity came up to switch across to Ireland, I took that chance and Danielle and mum and dad were all very supportive and well, they loved it.' He is the only non-Chinese athlete in his training group and with McAnuff based out of Hungary , their paths rarely cross as they engage in a long-distance contest for an Olympic spot for which the rules are not entirely clear. O'Brien said: 'I've no idea. That's all to find out.' Advertisement
The Irish Sun
20-06-2025
- The Irish Sun
Hung jury in trial of Dublin firefighter accused of raping US woman in Boston on St Paddy's weekend as new date set
A US judge has declared a mistrial in a case involving Dublin firefighter Terence Crosbie, who is accused of rape. Mr Crosbie is accused of raping a 29-year-old attorney in a Boston hotel room over St Patrick's Day weekend in 2024. Advertisement He was sharing the room with his colleague Liam O'Brien, both of whom had travelled over as part of a group of firefighters to participate in the Boston parade. Mr Crosbie was arrested on March 16, 2024 and was on trial this week for the alleged offence. He has been held at the Nashua Street jail in Boston since his arrest. However, the jury of eight men and four women were unable to reach a verdict after four days and 22 hours of deliberation. Advertisement READ MORE IN NEWS As they returned to the court room today the judge declared the jury as "hung". Judge Sarah Ellis said: 'I declare that this jury is deadlocked and I declare a mistrial.' Both the woman and Mr Crosbie testified over the five-day trail. The 29-year-old attorney alleges she met Liam O'Brien in a bar on March 14 and returned to the hotel room where they had consensual sex. Advertisement Most read in Irish News However, she claims after they fell asleep in separate beds she woke up as a man she did not know was raping her. Liam O'Brien remained asleep and was snoring at this stage. Gardai and RSA measures aimed at driving crash deaths on Irish roads The trial heard CCTV shows Mr Crosbie enter the hotel room and the woman leave 20 minutes later. The woman also alleges the man told her: "I know you want this. [Mr O'Brien] can't even do this for you – what a loser." Advertisement Mr Crosbie denies the charge and said that he had no sexual contact with the woman and that he "didn't touch" her. DNA evidence collected from the woman did show two samples the court heard. However, analysts were unable to determine whether the second sample belonged to Mr Crosbie. He testified in court: "There was nobody in my bed. My bed was empty." Advertisement He also said "loser" was not a common Irish term and he would not have said it. A new trial date has been set for October 14 and bail was increased from $10,000 to $50,000 after the judge deemed the accused to be a flight risk. 1 The firefighter denies the charge
Irish Times
20-06-2025
- Irish Times
Boston rape trial: Judge declares mistrial after jury unable to reach decision
A jury has been unable to reach a verdict in the case of the Dublin firefighter accused of raping a US woman in Boston over St Patrick's Day weekend last year. Terence Crosbie (38) was on trial for raping a 29-year-old attorney in a shared hotel room while his Dublin Fire Brigade colleague Liam O'Brien slept. On Friday afternoon, when the jury of eight men and four women returned to the courtroom to outline that they they could not reach a verdict, the judge said: 'I find that this jury is hung.' After more than 22 hours of deliberation over four days the jury of eight men and four women were unable to reach a decision. READ MORE On Friday afternoon, following queries by the jury and statements that they could not reach a verdict, judge Sarah Ellis said: 'I declare that this jury is deadlocked and I declare a mistrial.' His next trial is set for October 14th. After declaring a mistrial Judge Ellis increased Mr Crosbie's bail from $10,000 to $50,000 declaring Mr Crosbie to be a flight risk. 'The state of the evidence is no longer speculative in this case,' Judge Ellis said. Mr Crosbie was one of more than 10 members of Dublin Fire Brigade who flew into Boston on March 14th to participate in the St Patrick's Day parade. The woman alleged that later that night she met Mr O'Brien at The Black Rose bar, returned with him to the Omni Parker House hotel, had consensual sex and fell asleep in separate beds. She alleged she awoke to a man she did not know raping her and disparaging Mr O'Brien who was snoring. 'I know you want this; [Mr O'Brien] can't even do this for you – what a loser,' she claimed Mr Crosbie said. The complainant and Mr Crosbie both testified during the five-day trial. Prosecutors said the complainant's testimony that she 'woke up' with a man raping her was supported by CCTV footage of Mr Crosbie entering the hotel room at the time in question and the complainant leaving 20 minutes later. Just because the woman went home with Mr O'Brien 'doesn't mean that that man's hotel roommate gets to rape her', prosecutor Erin Murphy told the court. Mr Crosbie 'isn't the unluckiest man in the world; he is the man who raped,' she said. His defence lawyer Daniel C Reilly asked jurors to end Mr Crosbie's 'nightmare' with an acquittal. Mr Crosbie was steadfast in his denial of the assault, insisting through his attorneys, police interviews and his own testimony that he 'didn't touch' the woman. 'There was nobody in my bed - my bed was empty,' Mr Crosbie told the court. 'I had no physical or sexual contact with her at all'. Mr Crosbie insisted that words the complainant attributed to the assailant such as 'loser' was 'not an Irish term'. His defence team called into question DNA evidence collected from the woman. Analysts found two male profiles but could not conclusively identify Mr Crosbie as the second male contributor. The defence also sought to discredit the woman's account citing 'gaps' in her memory, insisting she was inebriated and questioning her about psychiatric medication in cross examination. Mr Crosbie has been held at the Nashua Street jail in Boston since his arrest on March 16th, 2024.
Daily Mail
12-06-2025
- Daily Mail
Shocking new claim made at rape trial of Irish firefighter accused of attacking drunk woman in Boston hotel
An Irish firefighter accused of raping a drunk lawyer during a St. Patrick's Day trip to Boston left no DNA on her body, his trial was told. Terrence Crosbie's attorneys told a Boston court on Wednesday that the lack of genetic material suggested their client was innocent of the March 2024 sex attack. Crosbie, who was visiting Boston from Dublin for St Patrick's Day, is accused of raping the 29 year-old lawyer shortly after she'd had drunken but consensual sex with his hotel roommate Liam O'Brien, the Boston Globe reported. During Wednesday's hearing, the court was also told how a vaginal tear had been found during a medical examination on the woman afterwards. But defense attorneys asserted that the injury could have happened during the consensual encounter at the Omni Parker House hotel with O'Brien, who is also a firefighter. They further alleged the woman had gaps in her memory, didn't know the name of the man she had slept with, and failed to mention any tattoos - despite the suspect having visible ink on his body. Crosbie, a married father of two daughters, was away from his family for the fateful trip to Boston and was arrested on a JetBlue flight as he tried to flee back to Ireland. 'Would you be surprised if she said otherwise?' an officer asked. 'One hundred percent,' he replied. Sounding agitated, Crosbie then asked: 'Am I being accused of something or is Liam being accused of something?' He recounted drinking at several bars, including The Dubliner and The Black Rose, before returning to the hotel and finding O'Brien in their room 'with a girl.' Not wanting to intrude, he said he waited in a hallway chair for hours. Later, he returned to the room, used his key card to enter, and said: 'Is it OK if I come in?' He told police he used the flashlight on his phone, saw no one in the room, and got into bed. Moments later, the woman left the room. 'I didn't see anyone,' he said. The woman, however, told the court that after consensual sex with O'Brien, she moved to the second bed and woke up to find another man assaulting her. She alleges that man is Crosbie, who denies a charge of rape. 'I woke up, and a guy was inside of me,' she said tearfully, reading a text she sent to a friend shortly after the alleged incident. Boston Police Detective Joseph McDonough confirmed that Crosbie's DNA was not found on the woman, and that she never mentioned any tattoos - which would have been visible in 'booking photos.' Defense attorney Daniel Reilly grilled McDonough about inconsistencies in the woman's account, including the fact that she didn't know O'Brien's name and failed to mention hugging or shaking hands with Crosbie earlier that night. 'Fair to say you were aware [the woman] had gaps in her memory?' Reilly asked. 'Yes,' McDonough replied. Security footage showed the woman and O'Brien entering the hotel at 11:51 p.m., with Crosbie arriving shortly after. Lock records showed him entering the room at 1:55 a.m., and the woman leaving at 2:16 a.m. Medical staff testified that the woman had a 'vaginal tear', but confirmed it could result from consensual sex. 'Would you agree that could be from consensual sexual activity?' Reilly asked nurse Lindsay Walsh. 'Yes,' she responded. Crosbie's legal team now suggests the woman may have mistakenly believed she was assaulted by the wrong man - setting the stage for a high-stakes battle over memory, evidence, and identity in the days ahead. Earlier in the trial, the woman wept in Suffolk Superior Court as she recalled the moment she woke up to a man 'inside of her' at the historic downtown hotel. Crosbie, who was in town as part of a Dublin Fire Brigade delegation for the St. Patrick's Day parade, has been jailed since his arrest. Prosecutors described the incident as a 'nightmare' attack on a sleeping woman. The woman - whose identity is being withheld - became emotional as she viewed photographs of the hotel room and security footage of herself leaving. She testified that Crosbie whispered: 'This guy is sleeping. I know you want this.' She said she screamed: 'What are you doing? Stop!' Under questioning, she told the jury Crosbie followed her around the room, tried to kiss her, and pushed her against the wall as she gathered her belongings. 'I just wanted to get out of there,' she sobbed. 'I didn't know anyone. I just wanted to get out.' She said she had spent March 14 bar hopping - starting with a work party at Big Night Live at 1:45 p.m., then heading to State Street Provisions, and ending up at The Black Rose around 9 p.m. She admitted drinking five or six beers but insisted she was 'totally coherent,' saying alcohol had no 'negative impact' on her judgment, even if it made her feel 'looser.' After meeting O'Brien at The Black Rose, she went back to his hotel room at around 11:30 p.m. - unaware he was sharing it with Crosbie. She said she had consensual sex with O'Brien before falling asleep in the other bed - only to allegedly wake up to the assault moments later. Back in 2017 Crosbie wrote about wanting to visit Amsterdam and see a soccer game before adding a questionable comment The Irish fireman is accused of raping a woman in Boston has a history of disturbing posts, including one where he shared his desire to 'rupture his wife's cervix' Prosecutor Daniela Mendes told jurors that Crosbie returned to the room, found the woman 'vulnerable and defenseless,' and 'took full, violent advantage of it.' Reilly, meanwhile, continued to press the accuser on her shifting account, asking about the lighting in the room and whether she accurately recalled what Crosbie said. 'It's fair to say your testimony from yesterday doesn't match what you first told the detective?' he asked. 'Yes,' she replied. At the hospital, her blood alcohol level was .135 - well over the legal driving limit of 0.08. When asked if she was still impaired at the time, she said: 'I guess.' However, nurse Carly Littlejohn testified the woman was medically cleared to undergo evidence collection - indicating she was sober enough to give informed consent for the procedure. Last year, reported on Crosbie's disturbing social media history. In a 2017 post, he wrote about wanting to visit Amsterdam to watch a football game, saying: 'Ajax away be a descent (sic) trip. 6ft blondes & most unreported rape capital of Europe sure even if it's Vigo vs Lyon be worth a trip.' And in a 2021 tweet to his wife on her birthday, he wrote: 'Happy Birthday babe. I will rupture your cervix later.'
Irish Times
09-06-2025
- Irish Times
Woman's ‘nightmare began as she woke up', US prosecutor tells rape trial of Dublin firefighter
A US woman who has accused a Dublin firefighter of raping in her in a Boston hotel endured a 'nightmare' that began 'as she woke up', a US court was told. Jurors in a Boston courthouse heard opening statements and testimony from the 29-year-old complainant in the case against Dublin firefighter Terence Crosbie arrested on rape charges over St Patrick's Day weekend last year . Mr Crosbie (39) is charged with assaulting the woman in a shared hotel room while his colleague Liam O'Brien slept in the other bed. He denies the charges and has pleaded not guilty in the trial, which started on Monday. READ MORE 'Our nightmares belong in our sleep and our nightmares and are supposed to end when we wake up,' the prosecuting lawyer, Suffolk Assistant District Attorney Daniela Mendes, said in her opening statement to the jury. 'Her nightmare began as she woke up.' Ms Mendes told jurors that the prosecution will present evidence 'that will prove beyond a reasonable doubt' that Mr Crosbie raped the woman as she slept and continued to do so after she woke up and tried to fight him off. Mr Crosbie's defence attorney, Patrick Garrity, told the jury 'the evidence will show you that there is a lot of doubt'. The woman claims she went with Mr O'Brien to room 610 of the Omni Parker House hotel on Thursday, March 14th, after meeting him at a nearby bar, The Black Rose. The couple then had sex and fell asleep in separate beds. She then woke up to a different man with 'an Irish accent' raping her. The key contention between the two sides presented to jurors was how the DNA evidence collected from the woman was interpreted. Forensic experts found 'two distinct male profiles', Ms Mendes told the court. Prosecutors claim the finding of two male profiles supports the complainant's allegation that she was assaulted by a second man after having consensual sex with Mr O'Brien. But Ms Mendes added that there was an insufficient amount of DNA to match the second profile 'to a known person'. Defence lawyers told the jury of eight men and six women that the only known male DNA profile belongs to Mr O'Brien. 'Not once did they find a trace of Terence Crosbie,' Mr Garrity told the court. The prosecution case is that the encounter with Mr O'Brien was consensual, Ms Mendes told the court – that was the night she signed up for. 'She did not sign up to be raped in her sleep by that man's hotel roommate,' the prosecuting lawyer said. Mr Crosbie met another woman at the bar, she said, but left the bar alone. Although he initially waited outside the hotel room on a chair in the hallway to give his friend privacy, shortly before 2am he 'was done waiting'. He saw that the complainant was 'defenceless' and asleep, and 'saw an opportunity', said the prosecutor. According to the prosecution, the woman awoke to a man with an Irish accent having sex with her. The man, later identified by the woman as Mr Crosbie, told the accuser that she 'wanted this', even as she struggled and told him to stop. When she broke free, he then cornered her against a wall, all while Mr O'Brien slept, oblivious, still snoring, the prosecuting lawyer said. Mr Garrity began opening statements with his hands on the defendant's shoulders, calling him 'Terry' as Mr Crosbie gazed directly at the jury. Mr Crosbie is 'seated here because this is the only avenue he has to deny these allegations', he told the jury. 'We don't convict people on 'maybes' or 'what-ifs.' We don't convict people on emotion, and this is going to be an emotional case,' he said. He told the jury they would hear 'how intoxicated' the woman was 'by the time she went back to the hotel room'. He said they would hear how the woman's statements were inconsistent, with her story changing 'as recently as two weeks ago'. The case, Mr Garrity said, 'boils down to the word of one person because Mr O'Brien was asleep and snoring through the alleged assault'. Mr Crosbie attempted to flee the county on an early flight after being questioned by Boston police, but detectives had told him he was a 'free man, you can do whatever you please', his lawyer told the court. Mr Crosbie was unfamiliar with American criminal and judicial customs, he said. This is 'not his world', added Mr Garrity, gesturing around the Boston courtroom. In her testimony to the court, the complainant described the hours prior to the assault and reviewed video taken from The Black Rose, occasionally wiping away tears as she spoke. She said she went with co-workers for drinks and met members of the Dublin Fire Brigade who had flown into Boston to march in the St Patrick's Day parade. The woman identified herself as 'dancing very awkwardly' in the video and trying to get other people at the bar to get up and dance. She described Mr O'Brien as 'about my height, maybe a little bit shorter, bald, white, Irish accent'. Mr O'Brien and his colleagues were wearing T-shirts identifying themselves as members of the Dublin Fire Brigade, she said.. After dancing with Mr O'Brien for about two hours, she said they kissed, he gave her his sweatshirt and they left together. The trial continues in Boston.
