A senior employee of a Co Mayo-based centre dedicated to the late Catholic Priest Fr Patrick Peyton, has secured a temporary High Court injunction preventing his employer from appointing somebody else to take over his roles and duties.
The order was secured by Padraic Walsh who claims that his employer, which operates a facility named after the Irish-born evangelist Fr Peyton who was known as 'The Rosary Priest', has damaged his reputation and breached his contract of employment by appointing another person to do many of his duties.
Mr Walsh claims that he is the National Director of the Centre which is located at Attymass outside Ballina in Co Mayo.
The facility serves as a spiritual and visitor centre in honour of Fr Peyton, who was born in the locality.
At the High Court on Tuesday Mr Justice David Nolan, on an ex-parte basis, granted Mr Walsh an interim injunction restraining the Father Patrick Peyton CFC Memorial Company Ltd from taking any steps to appoint any person to the role of 'Executive Director' of the defendant organisation.
The judge said he was satisfied that Mr Walsh had raised a fair issue to be tried, namely that the proposed appointment would amount to a breach of contract by the defendant, and that damages would not be an adequate remedy.
Given that the injunction would not prejudice the running of the centre the judge added that the balance of justice favoured the granting of a temporary order.
The matter will return before the court next week.
The court heard that Mr Walsh has worked as the defendant's National Director and as the centre's manager since 2016.
His position was renewed by the defendant in 2021, it is also claimed.
In 2022 Mr Walsh claims that he was the subject of "baseless" allegations of bullying made by another employee.
He was "fully exonerated" of all of those allegations.
Despite his vindication, he claims that his relationship with his employer has not been the same as it had been before.
He claims that he chairperson of the board had avoided him, and he has not been invited to any board meetings, which he had been prior to the bullying allegations.
In September Mr Walsh claims that he was informed that his employer intended to appoint an 'Executive Director', whom he would have to report to directly instead of his employer's board.
He claims that many of the duties he had performed have been assigned to the Executive Director, who the court heard is a Catholic priest currently working for the centre.
The proposed Executive Director was due to take up the position on Wednesday, November 1st.
Mr Walsh, it is claimed, was shocked by the news that somebody else would be essentially doing the role he would be doing, and immediately instructed solicitors to correspond with his employer asking them not to proceed with the appointment.
However, no undertakings were given by the employer to him, resulting in Mr Walsh's lawyers making the application to the High Court.
He fears that the proposed appointment will damage his reputation within his community, and has left him marginalised, ostracised and isolated, the court heard.
The centre also provides accommodation and serves as a museum to Fr Peyton's life.
Fr Peyton, who died in 1992 aged 83 years, was the founder of the Family Rosary Crusade and was known for phrases including "
