Six teachers who were subjected to bullying and harassment by their school principal yesterday settled a High Court action for damages.
The staff at the Presentation Secondary School in Terenure, Dublin, claimed the former manager and the owners of the school failed to take steps to stop alleged bullying by the principal Austin Kearney.
Patricia Langan, Deirdre McEntee, Rosemary McGinley, Nuala Cranley, Lorraine Jones and John Loughman all received an apology from the former manager Michael O Lionain and Sr Claude Meagher, trustee for the Presentation Order. They were each paid substantial damages.
Last night, as they celebrated the conclusion of their long battle, the teachers told the Irish Independent that the substantial damages were some "reflection of the extensive period of suffering".
"Today was the culmination of 17 years of suffering and distress for us, our families and friends," they said in a joint statement. "We are delighted at the outcome, we have been vindicated."
In their apology, the defendants unreservedly acknowledged the six were all highly competent teachers and their dedication to all aspects of the school was unquestioned.
The teachers, in their statements of claim, said they suffered stress and anxiety as a result of being bullied.
Humiliated
Patricia Langan claimed she was repeatedly publicly humiliated by Mr Kearney, despite raising her concerns with management as far back as 1991.
Among the incidents in which she said she suffered humiliation was an end-of -year Mass when the principal "pointedly" referred to lack of loyalty by some staff members.
The principal failed to take action over an incident, reported by Ms Langan, in which a student allegedly threw a stone at a passing car. He again failed to suspend another student for smoking following a complaint from her. These failures, she said, were an effort by the principal to undermine her.
Lorraine Jones claimed she was subject to unlawful harassment and bullying by Mr Kearney as far back as 1997
She was objectively depressed and hated having to go to work. She said the profession which she once loved became a "working nightmare".
Nuala Cranley said, in her statement of claim, that as a result of an incident on a school trip during 1995, she suffered severe personal injury which she claimed was the result of the "inappropriate if not criminal antics of several pupils" .
Mr Kearney only imposed a minor sanction on the pupils involved which she said was "deliberately designed" to belittle her standing in the eyes of the students.
Expenses
Mr Kearney later told her medical costs for the injuries were not covered, and only when she said she would inform management about the matter did the principal give her the contact name of the school insurers, who paid her expenses.
There were a number of other difficulties and incidents over the years which Ms Cranley believed were part of a strategy by the principal to portray her as incompetent to take on the position of assistant principal, which became available in 1999.
Deirdre McEntee said Mr Kearney regularly mistreated her and abused his authority at meetings.
Rosemary McGinley said Mr Kearney refused to communicate with her on a personal level and had to do it through memos or through the school secretary.
John Loughman said Mr Kearney subjected him to a consistent campaign of harassment including one incident in which the principal reported him (Loughman) as being absent without permission when he was in fact on jury duty.
He said he had to work in a hostile environment where he was isolated and marginalised, causing him great stress.