A SECONDARY school teacher is facing sizeable legal costs after the High Court yesterday awarded costs against her of her unsuccessful claim of being sexually harassed by a male colleague.
Mary O’Toole (48) had sued Co Offaly Vocational Education Committee claiming she was the victim of “a campaign” of bullying and harassment by Jim Mooney, a teacher colleague at Tullamore College.
The VEC and Mr Mooney denied her claims and Mr Justice Iarfhlaith O’Neill found against her last month. He ruled there was no sexual harassment or bullying by Mr Mooney and described Ms O’Toole’s evidence as “not credible”.
The judge awarded costs of the action, which ran for several weeks, against Ms O’Toole, a married mother of one, Whitehall Estate, Tullamore, Co Offaly. It is believed those costs could run well into six figures.
Mr Justice O’Neill also told the sides he had received a letter, which he had not read, from Ms O’Toole’s husband, Eamonn, and stated such correspondence was “not appropriate”.
John Peart SC, for Ms O’Toole, said he knew nothing about the letter and agreed it should not have been sent. While the content was not disclosed, counsel, after reading it, said that both sides “were in agreement” it was “of no assistance to the court”.
The judge said Ms O’Toole had made “very serious” allegations against a colleague and against officers of the VEC and those allegations had been dismissed. He agreed to place a stay on the order for 21 days to allow any appeal to be lodged against his decision.