An Irish dancing teacher has secured a temporary High Court injunction preventing the body that regulates Irish dancing from holding a disciplinary hearing into an allegation against her.
Linda Martyn, who runs an Irish dancing school in Tuam, Co Galway, was granted the order against An Coimisiún Le Rincí Gaelacha (CLRG).
She wants to appeal a finding made against her last March but objects to the appeal procedure adopted by the defendant, claiming she will not get a fair hearing.
The High Court was told on Monday she fears she will be suspended from teaching and adjudicating on Irish dancing.
Ms Martyn, represented by Remy Farrell SC, with Gerard Meehan, instructed by solicitor Niall Colgan, secured an interim injunction restraining CLRG conducting a disciplinary hearing in relation to her.
The injunction, granted on an ex parte basis (one side only represented), was returned to later this week.
Ms Martyn is subject of a disciplinary hearing over an alleged comment to another adjudicator when they were both judging an Irish dancing competition that was part of the Great Britain Championships held in the UK on October 15th, 2016.
It is alleged she attempted to coerce an adjudicator into awarding unfavourable marks to certain competitors. She rejects the claim.
Last year, she sought various High Court orders including an injunction preventing CLRG from commencing a disciplinary hearing into the allegation against her. The proceedings were resolved after it was agreed the disciplinary hearing should be conducted by an independent three-person committee, comprising two persons nominated by the Law Society and the third by CLRG.
In a sworn statement to the court on Monday, Ms Martyn said that hearing took place last February and made a finding against her last March.
Unhappy with that outcome, she sought an appeal. But she was told the appeal was within the CLRG disciplinary procedure and the composition of the appeal committee and the conduct of the appeal itself will be in accordance with the CLRG rules.
She said her solicitor Mr Colgan complained to An Coimisiún Le Rincí Gaelacha it was not the appropriate body to deal with the appeal.
She fears the appeal committee will be selected by An Coimisiún Le Rincí Gaelacha which, she claims, will put her at a disadvantage and says the appeal committee should have an independent majority.
Correspondence from her solicitor has not been dealt with in any meaningful way and she was concerned the CLRG had informed her it has decided to treat the appeal as a “review” rather than a “rehearing”.