Retired principal guilty of sex assaults

Past school friends wept and embraced in court after a jury found a former school principal guilty of 59 indecent assaults over a 21-year period.

After deliberating for five hours and 35 minutes at Ennis Circuit Court, a jury unanimously found Patrick Barry of Well Road, Kilkee, guilty of indecent assaults on 11 primary school girls between 1964 and 1985 at Moyasta school in West Clare.

The emotional scenes came after Judge Gerald Keyes recorded that the jury found the accused guilty on 59 counts of indecent assault. The judge had directed the jury to find Mr Barry not guilty on eight outstanding counts, for legal reasons.