Sacked school principal to seek reinstatement

A PRIMARY school principal sacked last month after a row over religious education is to seek reinstatement and compensation.

Tomás Ó Dúlaing was dismissed from Gaelscoil Thulach na nÓg in Dunboyne, Co Meath, after a disciplinary hearing into his conduct.

The dispute began after Mr Ó Dúlaing said he wanted to take Catholic pupils for First Communion preparation outside school hours.

The school’s religious ethos is that Catholic and Protestant children receive religious tuition together, rather than being segregated.

Last night the Irish National Teachers Organisation (INTO) said it was taking a claim against the board of management, on Mr Ó Dúlaing’s behalf, through an Employment Appeals Tribunal.

The decision to dismiss the principal was upheld last month by the school’s patronage body, An Foras Pátrúnachta, after an appeal hearing.

However, after a meeting of the union’s central executive committee in Westport yesterday, INTO general secretary John Carr demanded that An Foras not fill Mr Ó Dúlaing’s position until the case was decided.

The union will consider legal action if a move is made to appoint a new principal in the meantime. An Foras is looking to replace the board of management at the school after accepting its resignation last week. The board offered to step down in the best interest of the school and its 112 pupils. The numbers attending are expected to be well down when classes resume next week.

“I suppose there will be some fallout from this dispute but we won’t know until Monday,” said secretary of An Foras Pátrúnachta, Dónal Ó Conaill.

An Foras hope to appoint an individual school manager before then, with the acting principal staying in the role until a new school head is in place.

“If he proceeds along that line, it’s his right to do that and we accept it,” Mr Ó Conaill said of the employment appeal.

Mr Ó Dúlaing, who was unavailable for comment last night, has been appointed acting principal to a new inter-denominational school in Lucan.

The school is less than 10 miles away from Dunboyne and many families are believed to be considering moving their children there.

The INTO has ruled out industrial action but said they will be keeping in close contact with the remaining four teachers at Gaelscoil Thulach na nÓg on the effects of the dispute.