14 years for man who subjected his ex to 'breathtaking' violence, stabbing her 50 times

Judge said 21-year-old Niamh Kelly's 'carefree days are gone' given the lifelong injuries inflicted on her by her ex-boyfriend

21-year-old Niamh Kelly speaking to media outside the Criminal Courts of Justice in Dublin after Josh O’Brien, of Walkinstown Avenue, Crumlin, Dublin 12, pleaded guilty to attempted murder of Ms Kelly at Firhouse Rd, Firhouse, Dublin 24 on September 19, 2024. Picture: Collins Courts

A young man who left his ex-girlfriend with lifelong injuries after he tried to murder her by stabbing her 50 times has been jailed for 14 years and warned not to contact the victim.

Sentencing Josh O’Brien, aged 22, Ms Justice Mary Ellen Ring described the violence he used on 21-year-old Niamh Kelly as “breath-taking”. Her survival was “nothing short of a miracle”, the judge said, but she now lives a “totally different life” and will face limitations and challenges nobody should have to endure.