A prison officer said in the High Court yesterday he was wrongly transferred from Mountjoy to Wheatfield Prison after a dispute with another prison officer.
The dispute between the two Mountjoy Prison officers - assistant Chief Officer Vincent Malone and Officer Mary Tierney - began with their making written allegations against each other and yesterday came before the High Court.
In the proceedings, Mr Malone (47) alleged he was wrongly transferred to Wheatfield Prison, Co Dublin, in 1994. He claimed he was called a scumbag and a bastard by Ms Tierney.
Ms Tierney complained she had been harassed and degraded by Mr Malone staring and glaring at her, calling her a "slut" and making obscene remarks and gestures towards her.
Mr Malone alleged Ms Tierney complained only after he made a written complaint against her in March 1994.
Mr Conor Maguire SC, for Mr Malone, said his client claimed he was never given an opportunity of replying to complaints made by Ms Tierney. His transfer was tantamount to conviction without trial.
Mr Maguire said the court was not being asked to decide the issues that gave rise to the conflict but whether fair procedures had been adopted involving the transfer. Mr Maguire said his client had suffered significant financial loss - not less than £40,000 to date.
In evidence, Mr Malone said following a 1984 dispute, he was not a member of the Prison Officers' Association (POA). He had been the first prison officer who had been asked to supervise officers bringing prisoners to court. He said he brought the excess staff back from the court to be used in the prison. There was animosity towards him because this entailed loss of allowances to prison staff.
On March 6th, 1994, he said he was standing in the prison "circle" when Ms Tierney approached and asked him what he was looking at. He told her he did not know what she was talking about. She hurled abuse at him, calling him a scumbag and a bastard.
He made a written complaint. The following day he was told Ms Tierney had gone to the Governor and complained about him. In a letter of complaint dated March 9th, 1994, read to the court, Ms Tierney wrote she wished to bring "serious matters of harassment and degradation" to the Governor's attention. She said it had escalated to a "frightening level" over the previous few days.
She alleged that, on March 6th, 1994, Mr Malone had entered "the circle" and began to stare at her and later came near and glared into her face. Officer Richard Nolan was present.
Later the same day Mr Malone and another officer stared at her, she claimed. Mr Malone drove by her in his car and glared at her and said: "You slut". She said the next day Mr Malone had pointed at her and made an obscene gesture with his arm and clenched fist. He jeered her and passed obscene and sexist comments.
Mr Malone denied Ms Tierney's allegation. A letter from Ms Tierney was read to the court which claimed Mr Malone's complaint about her was fabricated and he had been harassing her since 1988. In reply to Mr Justice O'Donovan, Mr Malone said he had never been confronted with these allegations before the letter of March 9th, 1994.
Mr Malone said Officer Richard Nolan had supported five of the six allegations made by Ms Tierney. There had been no corroboration from other basic officer grades. He would be calling women prison officers to support him.
Because of a belief he had and because Officer Nolan had supported Ms Tierney's allegation, Mr Malone said he went to a place in Cabra in April 1994, where he believed Ms Tierney lived, to find out if he could see Mr Nolan.
He saw Mr Nolan's car in a nearby road and Ms Tierney at the passenger door. He assumed she was getting out of the car. He said Mr Nolan drove across the junction and blocked it. The gardai arrived but left after speaking to all present.
The hearing continues today.