A Fianna Fáil councillor has dismissed suggestions that his appointment to the chair of Limerick Institute of Technology led to the resignation of the college's director.
Mr John Gallahue - a member of Limerick County Council - also denied rumours of a personality clash with Mr Pat MacDonagh who recently announced his resignation as director of LIT.
Mr MacDonagh informed the monthly meeting of the institute's governing body that he would stand down at the end of the current academic year.
However, last night Mr MacDonagh was on leave from LIT and the college registrar, Mr Vincent McCarthy, was serving as acting director pending a new appointment.
Cllr Gallahue - who was appointed to chair the governing body by the Minister for Education, Mr Dempsey - said last night that rumours of a spat with Mr MacDonagh were untrue and had been leaked to discredit him politically.
"We had an agreement at Tuesday's meeting of the governing body that we would close the book on the resignation of the director. Any person is entitled to resign and it's not the first time a director has resigned in recent times. I wish Mr MacDonagh enjoyment and a long life in his retirement. He has made a tremendous contribution to the Mid-West region," said Cllr Gallahue.
Mr Gallahue is a staff member at LIT - where he heads the department of the built environment.
Recently, it has been standard practice in institutes of technology for a non-staff member to be appointed chair of the governing body.
The controversial appointment of Mr Gallahue is likely to have repercussions for other institutes and it is thought that their directors may seek meetings with Minister Dempsey to clarify appointment rules.
In a statement issued by LIT last night, Mr MacDonagh said the time had come to assess his options.
"It is time to pass the baton to a new and younger generation which will bring the institute forward into a new era. If I have been responsible for achieving anything, it has been the result of teamwork and I am grateful to all those who worked with me in making LIT an institution of which we can be justly proud," he said.
Mr MacDonagh (63), served as director of LIT for the last 25 years. In a statement, the governing body at LIT said it had accepted Mr MacDonagh's resignation with regret.