Ex-principal struck off over theft of money from school

A former school principal convicted of stealing thousands of euro from his school and failing to report a child welfare concern to Tusla has been struck off the register of teachers.

An inquiry panel of the Teaching Council also ruled that the teacher is ineligible to apply to have his name restored to the register for a minimum of three years.

The sanction followed a fitness-to-teach inquiry in September which found a number of allegations of professional misconduct and breaches of the Code of Professional Conduct for Teachers proven against the former principal.

They included that he had dishonestly provided a false telephone number in the context of applying for the role of principal at another school in September 2020 which purported to belong to the chairperson of the board of management of his former school.

His theft of thousands of euro from the first school came to light while he was on sick leave before he resigned as principal in October 2020.

Neither the principal nor the schools can be named as a result of a direction by the inquiry panel.

The inquiry heard he had also dishonestly arranged for an unknown person who pretended to be the chairperson of his former school's board of management to contact the school in October 2020 where he was applying for the role of principal to provide a "glowing" reference.

The principal claimed his actions occurred during a serious relapse into addiction.

He was successful in the job interview and was appointed principal in November 2020 but resigned in June 2022 after the school became aware of his false reference.

The inquiry panel said the case was one where the teacher’s conduct was "fundamentally incompatible with the profession of teaching due to the level of dishonesty" as well as potentially "placing vulnerable children at risk."

The inquiry chairperson, Paul Moroney, said he had displayed a reckless disregard for the principles of trust, honesty and integrity through "profound and calculated dishonesty".

Mr Moroney said the panel was deeply troubled that he had provided a false reference at a time when he was already under investigation for serious financial wrongdoing, had undergone significant treatment for addictions and persuaded medical professionals that he was well.

The principal made full admissions to the allegations which included that he had been convicted of an indictable offence at a Circuit Criminal Court in 2022 for sample counts of forgery and theft from his former school.

The inquiry heard he had received a suspended sentence for the offences which occurred between 2016 and 2019, when he misappropriated school funds using false invoices, including in the name of a charity.

While he told gardaí that he used the money to pay bills and for "day-to-day living" with "no high life," the inquiry panel noted money was also spent on taxis, socialising, clothes, jewellery, holidays and hotels in Ireland and abroad.

It was also informed that he had been abused as a child, while a medical report found post-traumatic stress disorder was a likely reason for his addictive behaviour.

The principal also accepted he had failed to contact Tusla for advice or make a mandated report after he had been made aware of welfare concerns about the domestic situation of a pupil.

Evidence was heard that he was dismissive of concerns raised by two staff members between October and November 2018.

Mr Moroney, said the former principal’s conduct was "of the most egregious kind" which fell "at the higher end of the spectrum of seriousness."

He said the conduct involved in the misappropriation of funds was "calculated and deceitful" and represented a significant abuse of trust over a protracted period.

While the inquiry panel accepted it came against a background of trauma and addiction, Mr Moroney said it nevertheless could not be ignored that it involved a degree of planning and premeditation.

He said there had been a serious dereliction of duty by the teacher in relation to the child welfare issues over his failure to report serious concerns about anger and violence in the home of a pupil.

"The conduct demonstrates a blatant disregard for child safety," said Mr Moroney.

He said the teacher was also prepared to put his own interests above the school and the profession when he made a conscious and deliberate decision to submit false contact details of a reference.

Mr Moroney identified mitigating factors in the teacher’s favour as his previous unblemished record and his history of personal trauma, addiction and mental health issues.

The panel also accepted he was genuinely remorseful for his actions.

However, Mr Moroney said the panel was concerned about his earlier responses to child protection issues as he had originally denied to the Teaching Council that any concerns had been brought to his attention while making admissions about his financial wrongdoing.

Mr Moroney said he had only adopted a different stance in February 2026 which indicated that his insight into the gravity of the allegations might best be described as "developing."

He said the panel also found it challenging to accept a medical report from September 2020 which stated the former principal was a changed person a month before he arranged the false reference for the second school.

Mr Moroney noted it was also challenging to accept the teacher’s assertion that a relapse had caused him to behave in such a manner when he stated in his resignation letter to his former school a short time later that he had "21 months of sobriety".

He said the panel was also concerned that a medical report from June 2026 the teacher did not suffer from a psychiatric disorder which impaired his capacity to teach was based on a single consultation without access to his past medical records.

Mr Moroney said the teacher’s case was also significantly different and "more egregious" than another recent ruling where a school principal who had stolen school money received a censure and a one-month suspension.

The panel had previously heard evidence from a number of character witnesses who praised the former principal for the contribution he was making to his local community.

While the panel acknowledged the teacher had apologised to the Teaching Council and the two schools involved, it noted there was no apology addressed to the children or families who had potentially been let down by his failure to carry out his child protection responsibilities.

The teacher told the inquiry that he had been battling addictions to drink, drugs and gambling since 2014 for which he had received treatment but "the wheels started to come off" around the time when he took funds from his first school.

In a submission last month, counsel for the Teaching Council, Hugh McDowell BL, said the financial misconduct had a significant impact on his former school at an early stage of its development such that its existence had been "imperilled."

Counsel for the teacher, Alison Fynes BL, had claimed that the appropriate sanction for her client was censure or advice together with conditions as he had been out of teaching for almost six years.

Ms Fynes pointed out that all money taken from the school had been fully repaid.

The sanction imposed by the Teaching Council will require formal ratification by the High Court before taking effect.