Gardaí are to interview Leaving Cert pupils at a mixed north Kerry secondary school following an alleged sexual assault of a student at a party after the school's annual graduation Mass.
The alleged assault was said to have happened at a party for Tarbert Comprehensive School students in a marquee in the grounds of a private house last Monday.
The girl making the allegation is understood to be 17 and from the fifth-year class. It is understood she attended school the next day, Tuesday, but later that day she attended a doctor and was examined at the sexual assault unit in Cork.
The allegation is against another student, a male, at the school.
Between 50 and 60 students from fifth-year, the pre-Leaving cert year, as well as the Leaving Cert classes, attended and alcohol was consumed.
The principal of Tarbert Comprehensive School, Ms Mary McGillycuddy, said yesterday the school had been concerned for some time about after-graduation Mass parties.
The marquee, set up in the grounds of the family home of one of the students, was organised and paid for by the students themselves, it is understood.
Ms McGillycuddy said the school was upset by the incident and by the fact that exam students were now facing the added pressure of being part of a Garda investigation before the start of the Leaving Cert.
The party was not an organised part of the school graduation Mass for the 120 Leaving Cert and Applied Leaving Cert class of 2004 and their parents on Monday evening of last week.
Ms McGillycuddy heard about the party on Monday evening and spoke to parents and students outlining her concerns about alcohol consumption and the fact the party was taking place before the exams.
Gardaí were also informed but could do nothing to prevent it going ahead in a private house.
Ms McGillycuddy said schools had been concerned for some time about parties after graduation Masses. "It is yet another side-effect of the drink culture."
Students themselves were not responsible for the country's alcohol-centred culture, she said. It was time the problem was tackled. Adults were providing nothing for the young, she added.
Garda Supt Frank O'Brien said the Garda appreciated the pressure the exam students were already under facing their Leaving Cert.
"We are seeking the co-operation of all those involved and are determined to establish exactly what took place," Supt O'Brien said. They were carrying out "a very thorough investigation", he added.
The results of forensic tests are also awaited.
The serving of alcohol to underage people in a private house is not an offence.