A former vocational school principal has been jailed for six years for sexually abusing pupils over a 30-year period. Brendan Patrick Tiernan (66), of Beechpark Avenue, Foxrock, Co Dublin, was principal of Clogher Road Vocational School, Crumlin, from 1979 until he was exposed by one of his victims in 1996. Before that, he was vice-principal of Sundrive Road Vocational School from 1969.
He pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to 14 charges of indecent assault and gross indecency involving nine victims. The 14 charges were representative of 113 on the indictment. Judge Elizabeth Dunne imposed concurrent one-year sentences for the five gross indecency charges and three-year terms for the indecent assault counts. She directed that the three-year terms on three of the indecent assault offences be made consecutive to the others because he had committed them at the two schools in which he held positions of trust.
Judge Dunne agreed to the request of defence counsel Mr Patrick MacEntee SC (with Mr Luan O Braonain) to review the case in three years so as to inquire into what treatment, if any, Tiernan was getting in prison. "It's a matter of great concern for me that the range of treatment in custody for these offenders is so limited. It is most important that he get treatment in prison," she said.
Judge Dunne had earlier heard victims tell the court how the abuse had severely affected their lives and caused them problems in their social, business and sporting activities. Alcohol abuse and suicidal tendencies were reported by many of the victims in the reports before the court, she said.
A 26-year-old man said the abuse caused him to become a heroin addict and a male prostitute. He said he had lost his self-respect for a long time and had abused girlfriends.
Another said he had a good job but couldn't cope properly in the last year or two and lost days from work because he found it hard just to get up in the morning. Det Sgt David Walsh told prosecuting counsel Mr Erwan Mill Arden SC the offences occurred on dates from 1969 to 1996 in Tiernan's car, his office, his home and in hotels on school trips. He often took his victims, aged between 12 and 17, in his car to Brittas Bay and the Pine Forest.
Mr Mill Arden said a victim who was abused between 1982 and 1984 was paid money by Tiernan after he wrote to him some years later and complained about the effect it had on him. A 42-year-old man who was abused between the years 1969 and 1974 spoke to Tiernan about it in 1976. Tiernan was very distressed about this and said it would ruin his career. The victim didn't pursue the matter. The offences came to light in 1996 when the final victim on the indictment complained to the Eastern Health Board and gardai were contacted. Det Sgt Walsh agreed this man was "the catalyst" who set the investigation in train.
Mr Patrick Randalls, clinical psychologist with the Granada Institute, said Tiernan was confused about his sexual orientation. He was erotically attracted to teenage boys but didn't think his relationship with the victims was driven by sexuality. He saw his activity as expressing friendship and forging a common bond with them.