Former school principal who avoided jail for €200k theft is jailed after appeal

A former school principal from Ballybofey, County Donegal, has been sent to prison following a Court of Appeal ruling that his original suspended sentence was unduly lenient. Finbarr Boyle, aged 39, pleaded guilty to five counts of theft and two counts of forgery relating to his time as principal at Kilnaleck National School in County Cavan between 2007 and 2012. He had originally received a wholly suspended two-year sentence in March 2018 on condition he repay €25,000. The Court of Appeal, on application by the Director of Public Prosecutions, found this sentence insufficient given the seriousness of the offending. Boyle misappropriated approximately €204,000 through various means, including unauthorised use of the school's visa card for personal expenses, improper cheque drawings, and fraudulent claims submitted to the Department of Social Protection. The Court of Appeal resentenced him to 15 months imprisonment, with immediate custody ordered.