Supreme Court finds principal’s reinstatement was wrongly ordered

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

The Supreme Court found that the Labour Court had erred in law by ordering the re-engagement of Gaelscoil Moshiolog principal Aodhagan Ó Suird, but declined to set aside its decision and send the case back for fresh consideration.

In its ruling on 31 July 2024, the five-judge court found that the Labour Court had been entitled to conclude that the school’s board of management unfairly dismissed Mr Ó Suird in 2015.

The court said the Labour Court had not properly considered the exceptional nature of reinstatement, its practicality or its impact on the school and the person appointed principal after Mr Ó Suird’s dismissal. The Supreme Court declined to remit the case for a fresh remedy decision, citing the time elapsed and Mr Ó Suird’s return to the post.

The Supreme Court also overturned High Court orders in Mr Ó Suird’s favour, including an order for payment of arrears of pay and entitlements. Those sums must be repaid to the board. It set aside Mr Justice Brian Cregan’s ruling on legal costs, including an order that the board pay them on the higher practitioner-client basis.