A SECONDARY school teacher has claimed a former colleague had “a crush” on him and has denied her claims he sexually harassed and bullied her.
In evidence to the resumed hearing at the High Court yesterday, Jim Mooney, a teacher at Tullamore College, denied as “nonsense” and “untrue” claims by his former colleague Mary O’Toole he had leered at, inappropriately touched and verbally insulted her between 1996 and 2000.
Mr Mooney said Mrs O’Toole had a crush on him but he was not interested in her. He was “gobsmacked” and “disgusted” when in 1998 Mrs O’Toole made a complaint that he had exposed himself to and sought sexual favours from her.
He utterly denied those claims and had engaged a solicitor to write to Mrs O’Toole telling her to stop harassing him, he said.
He was giving evidence in the continuing action against the Co Offaly Vocational Education Committee (VEC) brought by Mrs O’Toole (48), a married mother of one, Whitehall Estate, Tullamore. She alleges, while employed with the defendant as a teacher at Tullamore College she was harassed, sexually harassed, and intimidated.
She claims the VEC was negligent and in breach of its duty of care towards her and caused her to suffer personal injuries and distress. Mrs O’Toole also claims she was driven to breaking point by Mr Mooney’s alleged behaviour.
She claims the VEC did nothing about her complaints and she had moved to another school in 2001. The VEC has denied the claims.
Yesterday, Mr Mooney told Colm Smyth SC, for the VEC, he first became aware in 1997 that Mrs O’Toole had a crush on him because she had interrupted his classes on a number of occasions.
In March 1997, Mrs O’Toole, who lived about 500 yards from his residence, had visited him in his home while he was sick. Her visit was uncomfortable, he said.
On a later occasion she called around to his residence during the early hours of the morning, he said. Mrs O’Toole had drink taken, was slurring her words, and told him “don’t be afraid I only want to be with you”, he told the court.
After informing her he was not interested in her, he persuaded her to leave the house but she hung around, claimed to have lost her car keys and was shouting through the letterbox, he said. Eventually, one of his housemates called the Garda.
After that incident, she telephoned him and asked him: “What about us?”, he said. She also wrote him a letter shortly after that event and the contents of that letter were “scary”.
While at his residence in May 1998 following another social event, Mary O’Toole attempted to initiate sexual relations with him but he turned her down and put her out of his house, he said. He rejected her claim he had exposed himself to her and she had fled.
He said she telephoned him afterwards and asked him “did last night mean nothing to you”. He said he had instructed a solicitor to write to her after she made allegations in November 1998 against him shortly after damaging his car.
The manner in which those allegations were withdrawn just about satisfied him, he said. He agreed he could sometimes be curt with her and said that was because he wanted to have as little to do with her as possible.
Mr Mooney also said Mrs O’Toole prevented him from getting into his car on one occasion and demanded he give her a lift home. He said she once hit him “a few digs” while they were in the staffroom and on another occasion had pushed him.
The case, which opened last month before Mr Justice Iarfhlaith O’Neill, continues.