Principal and parent’s mediation for assault fails

Mediation efforts between a Clare school principal and a parent who assaulted him have broken down after a Catholic bishop said he could not intervene.

At Kilrush District Court yesterday, Patrick Moylan, the solicitor for Martin Tubridy, aged 55, said that mediation talks held at the Ennis residence of the Bishop of Killaloe, Dr Kieran O’Reilly, did not progress.

The mediation talks were held following a direction from Judge Patrick Durcan last November when he convicted Mr Tubridy, of Quarry Vale House, Labasheeda, Co Clare, of the assault on Liam Woulfe, principal of two-teacher Labasheeda national school on Dec 9, 2011.

Mr Tubridy punched Mr Woulfe in the face in front of another parent outside a school classroom after telling him “you have been at my son all week”.

Mr Moylan told the court: “Supt Gerry Wall and I attended at Bishop O’Reilly’s residence in Ennis to discuss mediation and Bishop O’Reilly said that he wasn’t in a position to provide mediation.

“Bishop O’Reilly explained that he is the patron of the school’s board of management and the board of management employs the principal. He felt that he wasn’t in a position to engage in mediation as he wasn’t independent,” Mr Moylan said.

“Mr Tubridy has at all times sought to engage in the mediation process and other members of the Labasheeda community have contacted me and indicated how positive they view the desire for mediation to be engaged in, but it hasn’t been progressed, but not through any lack of effort on my client’s part.”

Supt Wall said the Tubridys removed their children from the school after the incident, and as a result they lie outside any Department of Education mediation process with the principal.

Mr Moylan said 13 pupils were withdrawn from the school after the incident. Supt Wall said: “I am not going to agree with that. It is not 13, it is four to five at most.”

Supt Wall told the judge: “There was some history to this, but I am not going to go into it in any great detail because it would require some adjudication from you.”

Supt Wall said a Department of Education whole-school evaluation had been published since the last court date. “Any slight on the character of the principal of the school is certainly rectified in this report. It was done independently and without reference to him,” he said.

Supt Wall said the report “favours his teaching and running of the school in the highest regard. I think that his character must be retained fully as principal of the school and it is independently verified there, with the school achieving excellence through various headings”.

Mr Moylan confirmed Mr Tubridy had paid compensation to Mr Woulfe.

Judge Durcan said he sought mediation “in the best interests of this community”.

He said: “I was satisfied that there was an assault, but I wasn’t satisfied on the basis of the evidence before me that I wasn’t getting the full picture — it was very obvious that there was a whole broad picture and story out there about which I knew nothing.”

Judge Durcan adjourned sentencing to May 21.