Patrick Barry sentenced to 11 years for sexual assault

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

Patrick Barry was sentenced to 11 years, with the final five suspended, at Ennis Circuit Court on 19 November 2014 for sexually assaulting 11 schoolgirls. The assaults took place at Moyasta national school in Clare between 1964 and 1985.

Barry was found guilty of 59 counts of sexual assault following a nine-day trial. The judge said Barry had abused his position as school principal; the court heard he had no previous convictions and was considered at low risk of reoffending.

This report covers an earlier stage of the case. Later developments are not reported here.