Parish worker awarded €1,560 after dismissal

A CHURCH worker, described by a psychiatrist as suffering from erotomania, sent inappropriate gifts, including a Valentine’s Day card, to the local parish priest, as well as declaring her love for him.

The woman has been awarded €1,560 in compensation by the Employment Appeals Tribunal.

The tribunal ordered Fr Larry White, parish priest of Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish, Putland Road, Bray, Co Wicklow, to pay the award after it ruled the dismissal of his parish secretary, Margaret O’Hehir, had been “procedurally unfair”.