The father of a dismissed national teacher who is pursuing a misconduct case against a local solicitor has said he believes two meetings with school representative to discuss the matter were "bugged."
Mr Timothy Moore also told a solicitors' disciplinary hearing into allegations of misconduct against Mr Eoin O'Connor of South Main Street, Naas, of two instances when he had been subjected to abusive remarks which suggested that his son has been involved in paedophiliac activities.
This indicated that "negative and untrue rumours tend to linger for a long time," he said. This was "very hurtful" to him.
His son, Mr Gerard Moore, who now works as a truck driver, was dismissed from Holy Child National School in Naas, Co Kildare, in August 1999.
Mr Gerard Moore accused Mr O'Connor, whom he says he consulted in July 1997, of an "appalling betrayal of trust" for accepting an invitation from the local bishop to join the school board which had dismissed him.
Mr Moore has claimed that Mr O'Connor gave school board members a summary of his correspondence, and advised that he be "summoned" to a hearing.
However, the solicitor, Mr O'Connor, denies any wrong-doing, and argues that Mr Moore was his client in one single matter only.
This means, he believed, it was not necessary for him to formally disengage from any professional relationship with the teacher.
Under cross-examination from Mr O'Connor's solicitor, Mr Conall Boyce, Mr Timothy Moore admitted that he had not read the minutes of a meeting with school representatives on November 20th, 1998.
However, he said he had no reason to doubt the accuracy of the details of the transcripts of these meetings, which his son had relayed to him.
He claimed nobody in the room could have taken notes with such accuracy.
As a result, he said "it was taped, yes, without a doubt." He also believed the subsequent meeting with the board of management of the school on January 25th was also "bugged."
The hearing of the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal was adjourned yesterday to reconvene at a date to be agreed by the parties.
Earlier, the tribunal heard a presentation from Mr Gerard Moore, in which he accused Mr O'Connor of defecting to the other side.
The tribunal also discussed a meeting on the street between Mr Timothy Moore and Mr O'Connor, where he endeavoured to hand Mr O'Connor a letter from the INTO, which said it could not engage a counsel for his son while Mr O'Connor was representing him.
This was something which, Mr Moore senior felt, spoke badly of the INTO and their attitude, he said. He admitted that Mr O'Connor had not taken the letter from him.
Mr Moore appealed the dismissal in 2001 and lost his case in the Employment Appeals Tribunal.
An appeal to the Circuit Court in 2002 also failed.
The school representative said that Mr Moore refused to leave the school in the days after he was suspended by its board of management.