A former chief executive of the Northern Ireland Fisheries Conservancy Board (FCB) used abusive language about Catholics, a Fair Employment Tribunal was told yesterday.
Dr Elaine Hamilton, a former deputy chief inspector, who has accused the board of religious discrimination, said she heard the chief executive, Mr William Smith, use the term "Fenian" during Sunday lunch at his home.
Dr Hamilton is claiming that a selection panel, which included Mr Smith, failed to shortlist her for the post of fisheries manager in November 1998 because of her relationship with a married Catholic employee, Mr Leo McKenna.
But counsel representing the FCB, Mr Kevin Denvir, accused Dr Hamilton of attempting to smear Mr Smith's reputation.
He said: "You go on to make the allegation that Mr Smith used the term 'Fenian'. I want to put it that this isn't true."
Dr Hamilton replied: "That is what I heard him say."
Asked if she was suggesting that other members of the selection board who failed to shortlist her were also biased, Dr Hamilton replied: "I think he (Mr Smith) influenced the board and the board was a party to that as well." Dr Hamilton, who had worked as deputy chief inspector at the board from 1990 to 1995, accepted an out-of-court settlement after she was dismissed.
She applied to rejoin the board in 1998 but was not given an interview by the four-member panel.
On the second day of cross-examination, Mr Denvir accused Dr Hamilton of splitting the workforce during her time as deputy chief after she pushed for an office worker to be disciplined.
Office workers and field staff resigned en masse from the Northern Ireland Public Service Alliance (NIPSA) in protest at Dr Hamilton's presence in the union after Ms Louise McAteer received a written warning.
The tribunal was told that Ms McAteer was disciplined after rumours of an affair between Dr Hamilton and Mr McKenna, a married man, began to surface.
Taking exception to the relationship, Ms McAteer phoned Mr McKenna's wife, and later altered an itemised phone bill, substituting her name with Dr Hamilton's.
Dr Hamilton rejected Mr Denvir's suggestion that she wasn't satisfied with Mr Smith's written warning and wanted Ms McAteer dismissed. She also denied that her relationship with Mr McKenna was causing problems at work.
"Our relationship at no stage affected our work. I was old enough and wise enough to know that I had to be seen to be extremely fair in my post."
Dr Hamilton accused Mr Smith of making the situation worse after she wrote to him complaining about Ms McAteer's conduct.
"He inflamed the matter by discussing that with the staff. I think Mr Smith could have dealt with the matter in a better way. It certainly didn't put paid to her (Ms McAteer's) maliciousness and gossiping within the office."
Mr Denvir further claimed Dr Hamilton had sought to undermine Mr Smith by supporting the workers' call for an increase in availability allowances paid to staff called out on after-hours work.
He claimed she had spoken out in favour of extra allowances, despite the chief executive's opposition to it, in order to ingratiate herself with staff. "I certainly did not agree with his decision in relation to availability allowance because I could see there was a way around this," Dr Hamilton said. The hearing continues