A radio presenter wept in the witness box in the High Court yesterday when recalling an occasion when he broke down while presenting a news bulletin on air.
Mr Henry McGlade (49), Cillora Cottage, Breaffy, Castlebar, Co Mayo, said he broke down when presenting the news on Mid West Radio on February 17th, 1994, because of stress and pressure he was feeling due to bullying and intimidation of him by station management.
The whole thing had been building up and he had been on edge for a number of days, he told Mr Justice Johnson on the third day of his action against County Mayo Radio Ltd, which carries on business as Mid West Radio.
When Mr McGlade wept in the witness box, the judge adjourned the trial to enable him to compose himself.
Mr McGlade is seeking damages against the radio company. He claims he was systematically intimidated, bullied and subjected to sustained humiliation by the chief executive, Mr Paul Claffey.
In evidence yesterday, Mr McGlade said that a programme he was preparing on a Fianna Fail convention in January 1994 was called off after the programme engineer told him that Mr Claffey had called to say: "You have to take that f...ing so-and-so off."
He had complained, but Mr Claffey had denied ever using bad language and asked Mr McGlade to apologise "or else". A meeting was called for February 8th to discuss the matter, with Mr Claffey insisting he had not used bad language although he had not denied that he had stepped in to have an interview at the convention halted.
The programme engineer was called in and, in Mr Claffey's presence, had denied that the chief executive had used bad language. Afterwards, the engineer apologised to Mr McGlade and said there was nothing he could do.
Two days later Mr Claffey, with a very menacing look on his face, called him into his office, Mr McGlade said. Mr Claffey alleged a woman called Margaret in Bundoran had made a complaint and gave Mr McGlade an hour to resign his job or be fired. He was roaring and shouting and using "shocking" language.
Mr McGlade said he phoned the Bundoran woman, who told him she never made a complaint. He taped the conversation, brought the tape to the chief executive's office and told Mr Claffey that he had lied. The next morning he was asked by one of the staff to forget the row with Mr Claffey had ever happened.
The next few days were the worst of his life, Mr McGlade said. He was continuously harassed, and management had tried to "hang something" on him at every opportunity.
He was fearful of losing his job and went to see Mr Tom Courell, editor of a local paper and a director of Mid-West Radio. Mr Courell, who is now deceased, had phoned Mr Claffey and told Mr McGlade that Mr Claffey "wants a grovelling letter from you".
Mr Courell had drafted that letter, which was typed up and signed by Mr McGlade. The letter did not reflect his own views, Mr McGlade said. It was composed by Mr Courell and he simply signed it to save his job.
The hearing continues today.