Top school’s finance director charged with stealing thousands

THE financial director of one of the country’s most exclusive private schools has been charged with stealing thousands of euro in funds from the elitist facility.

The Irish Examiner has learned that Denis Connolly, 52 St John’s, Park Avenue, Sandymount, Dublin, was arrested just before Christmas over allegations he was involved in the “misappropriation” of thousands of euro in private funds from St Michael’s College.

The 55-year-old senior member of the facility’s board of trustees had been involved with the school, located on Ailesbury Road, for a number of years.

Among the facility’s former pupils are Labour TD Ruairi Quinn, former AIB chairman Loughlin Quinn, ex-Irish rugby international Keith Gleeson and Leinster player Simon Keogh.

During an initial court hearing on December 10, Connolly was charged with the alleged unauthorised removal of €5,110 from the St Michael’s board of trustees account at AIB Sandymount in Dublin on March 22.

The court remanded him on bail until February 4, at which point sources close to the investigation have confirmed further charges relating to the garda investigation could be made.

It is not clear whether these possible additional charges relate to Connolly or other individuals.

A Donnybrook Garda Station and internal school authority investigations are understood to have identified between €200,000 and €250,000 which has gone missing from St Michael’s accounts.

In a statement to the Irish Examiner, a spokesperson for the Spiritan Provincialate religious group, which oversees the running of the school, confirmed a man has been placed on leave while the Garda investigation continues. “I can confirm that our understanding is the Garda investigation is proceeding apace. One individual has indeed, as you suggested, been charged and is due back in the courts within weeks,” he said.

The exclusive facility based on the millionaire-row Ailesbury Road area of Dublin 4 was founded in the 1940s by the Holy Ghost Fathers order and once included Father Ted comedian Dermot Morgan among its teaching staff.

Enrolment at the private school, which in recent years has regularly been placed among Ireland’s most sought-after ‘feeder’ schools for third-level institutions, costs the families of its 600 day-school pupils up to €4,900 a year.

St Michael’s also runs a successful primary school. Its total enrolment income exceeds €3 million every year.

While the Department of Education pays for some set expenses at private second- level facilities such as teacher salaries, it is understood none of the missing money involves public funds.

It is unclear how the school’s board of trustees is planning to make up the shortfall in funds caused by the missing monies.