Defence Forces Tribunal: Soldier breaks down as he recounts last words of apprentice before his death

Soldier told tribunal teenage army recruit, who allegedly had been subjected to prolonged humiliation by officer, asked him: 'How can 52 lads be so wrong and one man be so right?'

Fri, 26 Jun, 2026 - 16:32

Neil Michael

“How can 52 lads be so wrong and one man be so right?”

These were the last words spoken by a teenage army recruit ordered by an officer to sing nursery rhymes and kiss other male recruits before he shot himself while on army sentry duty at Devoy Barracks in Naas, Co Kildare.

This is according to testimony given to the Defence Forces Tribunal by a former fellow recruit in the 34th Platoon in the Army Apprentice School in Devoy Barracks.

David McGrath, who enlisted in August 1989 at the age of 17, broke down repeatedly as he gave evidence and then again as he asked the judge if he could say something before he left the witness stand.

Ms Justice Ann Power agreed, and he addressed the tribunal, saying on the Friday night before he died on June 22, 1991, Oliver Mullaney gave another soldier a lift home.

He said Mr Mullaney — who had allegedly been subjected to a prolonged period of humiliation by an officer known in the tribunal as 2LTB — turned to the soldier and asked him the question about how 52 lads could be “so wrong”.

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The judge asked him to repeat this and asked what this meant.

Mr McGrath said: “We were always in the wrong, no matter what happened.”

Earlier, he had given evidence about "numerous" incidents where recruits were allegedly physically attacked or berated and humiliated by 2LTB.

He also confirmed details about incidents previously referenced in the tribunal involving the officer, who cannot be named for legal reasons.

These included the “deliberate” targeting of fellow recruit Damien Traynor, who eventually suffered a serious nervous breakdown as a result of the way he was treated, and Mr Mullaney’s allegedly being repeatedly shouted and screamed at and ordered to sing and then kiss other recruits by 2LTB.

Other incidents allegedly include him kicking recruits in the ribs while they did press ups, forcibly cutting their hair if he didn’t feel it was short enough, and routinely confining recruits — many of whom were as young as 16 at the time — to the barracks, and stopping them from going home to their parents.

The officer’s legal team have repeatedly told former recruits giving testimony he "vehemently" denies every single allegation against him.

Martin Wall, another recruit at the Apprentice School who joined when he was just 16 and a former platoon leader, told the tribunal that after Mr Mullaney's death, the army no longer trusted the recruits with live weapons.

He told the tribunal there was a fear there would be a repeat of what Mr Mullaney had done.

He said while the barracks "was still armed at the time", and some soldiers had access to army rifles and "60 rounds of ammunition", the rest of the recruits were given wooden batons.

When asked if he ever complained, and if he didn’t — why he did not, Mr McGrath said “never once” was he shown how to make a complaint in the 10 years he served in the Defence Forces.

He also said it was explained to him shortly after he joined the army as a 16-year-old that it was considered an act of “mutiny” if two or more soldiers were found to be criticising the army.