Organiser of Cork LGBT+ Pride festival gets injunction to lift his suspension
The only full-time employee of the Cork LGBT+ Pride Festival CLG has been granted a High Court interim injunction lifting his suspension of nine months ago over allegations of misconduct.
Kery Mullaly, a business developer of Market Street, Thomastown, Co Kilkenny, has been employed to prepare and obtain sponsorship of the annual Cork Pride Festival which is due to take place again between July 26 and August 3.
He claims he was suspended on September 13 last without any prior notice of eight misconduct allegations against him which he vehemently denies.
The allegations include that he attended the Electric Picnic Festival while on certified sick leave, that he allegedly had "no regard" for the chairperson and board members and that he was allegedly aggressive and pressuring to Irish Water when seeking their sponsorship.
It was also claimed unnamed members of the festival board were allegedly approached by unnamed sponsors complaining about Mr Mullaly's behaviour and withdrawing sponsorship.
The board later decided the investigator would only look at three allegations including the Electric Picnic attendance and his contract of employment.
It is alleged he himself drafted his contract giving him €2,000 per month for work on preparing the festival and €100 per hour for work on securing sponsors and fundraising streams. He says the contract was reviewed and signed by the then treasurer of the board.
He says, in an affidavit, that he worked with the festival since 2011 first as a volunteer and later as an independent contractor. In 2021, he was made an employee by the board.
He says since his suspension nine months ago his income has been drastically reduced despite a promise that he would remain on full pay while on suspension.
He fears his reputation will be irreparably damaged if he remains suspended for the upcoming festival "where I have had, at each of the last 14 festivals, a visible and important presence throughout my role with the defendant".
He also says that in 2024 he noticed a change in that the previously convivial working relationships between people became strained. He found himself excluded from meetings and events and following the 2024 festival he went on sick leave due to stress and anxiety.
He says the allegations against him are contrived to cause him maximum stress and anxiety which they have done. He believed they "could be seen off quickly" and he would be back to work in time for the 2025 fundraising round.
Kery Mullaly has been employed to prepare and obtain sponsorship of the annual Cork Pride Festival which is due to take place again between July 26 and August 3. File picture: David Keane
Despite extensive communications from his trade union representative and his solicitor to the board no steps have been taken to address matters, he says.
On Friday, Mr Justice Brian Cregan granted him interim injunctions lifting his suspension and restraining the board from imposing any disciplinary sanction on him other than in strict compliance with his contract, natural justice and fair procedures, pending further order.
The application was made by his counsel Cathy Smith following a one-side only represented application.
The judge said it was "an extraordinary and regrettable tale" and it was quite clear Mr Mullaly was entitled to the interim relief sought. The case comes back next week.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Times
11 hours ago
- Irish Times
Ian Bailey's ‘deepest wish' was to clear his name of murder link, memorial service told
Ian Bailey 's 'deepest wish' before he died was to clear his name of any involvement in the murder of French film producer Sophie Toscan du Plantier , a small gathering of family, friends and supporters heard as his ashes were scattered into the sea in west Cork . Speaking at the private memorial service, Mr Bailey's sister Kay Reynolds said: 'It is a source of deep regret, held I'm sure by all of you today, that Ian's name wasn't cleared in his lifetime.' Ms Reynolds was joined by her daughter Jenni and other family members and about 30 friends and supporters for a memorial event at Skeaghanore pier near Ballydehob, overlooking Roaringwater Bay. Ms Reynolds said her brother 'once told me that the international arrest warrant, which meant he couldn't leave the country, didn't bother him as much as it could because there was no place else in the world [than Ireland] he wanted to be'. READ MORE She said the one occasion that the European arrest warrant caused her brother upset was when he was unable to visit their failing mother Brenda in England and attend her subsequent funeral. 'He felt the cruelty of this very, very deeply,' she said. Mr Bailey, who had been suffering from a heart condition, collapsed on the street in Bantry and died on January 21st, 2024 , just a week short of his 67th birthday. The English-born former journalist moved to Ireland in 1991 and came to prominence after the murder of Ms Toscan du Plantier (39), the French film producer killed at her isolated holiday home at Toormore in December 1996. Mr Bailey was arrested twice and questioned but was never charged with the killing and he repeatedly denied any involvement in the crime and maintained his innocence up to his death 18 months ago. Kay Reynolds, sister of Ian Bailey, disperses his ashes at Skeaghanore pier in west Cork on Friday. Photograph: Michael Mac Sweeney/Provision His remains were cremated at a private ceremony. Among those attending the scattering of his ashes were Mr Bailey's solicitors Frank Buttimer and Michael Quinlan and his barristers Tom Creed and Jim Duggan, who represented him in civil legal actions he took against several newspapers and against the State. Also present at the ceremony was film director Jim Sheridan , who championed Mr Bailey whom he maintained was innocent in his documentary series Murder at the Cottage and more recently in his docudrama Re-Creation which premiered earlier this month at the Tribeca film festival. Ian Bailey moved to Ireland in 1991 and came to prominence after the murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier in December 1996. Photograph: Niall Carson/PA Wire Mr Bailey despite his protests of innocence was convicted in absentia of the murder of Ms Toscan du Plantier by a French court in 2019. Ms Reynolds, who previously told The Irish Times that she did not believe her brother killed Ms Toscan du Plantier, began her eulogy to her brother with a reference to the murdered woman. 'I would just ask you to think of Sophie de Toscan du Plantier and her family for a moment. I really genuinely hope that they get justice and some sort of peace for themselves because obviously they have suffered so much through all of this.'
Irish Times
12 hours ago
- Irish Times
Cork LGBT+ Pride festival organiser gets injunction lifting suspension over misconduct claims
The only full-time employee of the Cork LGBT+ Pride Festival CLG has been granted a High Court interim injunction lifting his suspension nine months ago over allegations of misconduct. Kery Mullaly, a business developer, of Market Street, Thomastown, Co Kilkenny, has been employed to prepare and obtain sponsorship of the annual Cork Pride Festival, which is due to take place again between July 26th and August 3rd. He claims he was suspended on September 13th last without any prior notice of eight misconduct allegations against him, which he vehemently denies. The allegations include that he attended the Electric Picnic festival while on certified sick leave, that he had 'no regard' for the chairperson and board members and that he acted in an aggressive and pressuring manner towards Irish Water when seeking their sponsorship. READ MORE It was also claimed that unnamed members of the festival board were approached by unnamed sponsors complaining about Mr Mullaly's behaviour and withdrawing sponsorship. The board later decided the investigator would only look at three allegations, including the alleged Electric Picnic attendance and his contract of employment. It is alleged he himself drafted his contract, giving him €2,000 per month for work on preparing the festival, and €100 per hour for work on securing sponsors and fundraising streams. He says the contract was reviewed and signed by the then treasurer of the board. He says, in an affidavit, that he worked with the festival since 2011, first as a volunteer and later as an independent contractor. In 2021, he was made an employee by the board. He says that since his suspension nine months ago, his income has been drastically reduced despite a promise that he would remain on full pay while on suspension. He fears his reputation will be irreparably damaged if he remains suspended for the upcoming festival, 'where I have had, at each of the last 14 festivals, a visible and important presence throughout my role with the defendant'. He also says that in 2024 he noticed a change in that previously convivial working relationships between people involved became strained. He found himself excluded from meetings and events, and following the 2024 festival he went on sick leave due to stress and anxiety. He says the allegations against him are contrived to cause him maximum stress and anxiety, which he alleges they have done. He believes they 'could be seen off quickly', and he would be back to work in time for the 2025 fundraising round. Despite extensive communications from his trade union representative and his solicitor to the board, no steps have been taken to address matters, he says. On Friday, Mr Justice Brian Cregan granted him interim injunctions lifting his suspension and restraining the board from imposing any disciplinary sanction on him other than in strict compliance with his contract, natural justice and fair procedures, pending further order. The application was made by his counsel Cathy Smith following a one-side only represented application. The judge said it was 'an extraordinary and regrettable tale' and it was quite clear Mr Mullaly was entitled to the interim relief sought. The case comes back next week.
Irish Examiner
14 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Organiser of Cork LGBT+ Pride festival gets injunction to lift his suspension
The only full-time employee of the Cork LGBT+ Pride Festival CLG has been granted a High Court interim injunction lifting his suspension of nine months ago over allegations of misconduct. Kery Mullaly, a business developer of Market Street, Thomastown, Co Kilkenny, has been employed to prepare and obtain sponsorship of the annual Cork Pride Festival which is due to take place again between July 26 and August 3. He claims he was suspended on September 13 last without any prior notice of eight misconduct allegations against him which he vehemently denies. The allegations include that he attended the Electric Picnic Festival while on certified sick leave, that he allegedly had "no regard" for the chairperson and board members and that he was allegedly aggressive and pressuring to Irish Water when seeking their sponsorship. It was also claimed unnamed members of the festival board were allegedly approached by unnamed sponsors complaining about Mr Mullaly's behaviour and withdrawing sponsorship. The board later decided the investigator would only look at three allegations including the Electric Picnic attendance and his contract of employment. It is alleged he himself drafted his contract giving him €2,000 per month for work on preparing the festival and €100 per hour for work on securing sponsors and fundraising streams. He says the contract was reviewed and signed by the then treasurer of the board. He says, in an affidavit, that he worked with the festival since 2011 first as a volunteer and later as an independent contractor. In 2021, he was made an employee by the board. He says since his suspension nine months ago his income has been drastically reduced despite a promise that he would remain on full pay while on suspension. He fears his reputation will be irreparably damaged if he remains suspended for the upcoming festival "where I have had, at each of the last 14 festivals, a visible and important presence throughout my role with the defendant". He also says that in 2024 he noticed a change in that the previously convivial working relationships between people became strained. He found himself excluded from meetings and events and following the 2024 festival he went on sick leave due to stress and anxiety. He says the allegations against him are contrived to cause him maximum stress and anxiety which they have done. He believed they "could be seen off quickly" and he would be back to work in time for the 2025 fundraising round. Kery Mullaly has been employed to prepare and obtain sponsorship of the annual Cork Pride Festival which is due to take place again between July 26 and August 3. File picture: David Keane Despite extensive communications from his trade union representative and his solicitor to the board no steps have been taken to address matters, he says. On Friday, Mr Justice Brian Cregan granted him interim injunctions lifting his suspension and restraining the board from imposing any disciplinary sanction on him other than in strict compliance with his contract, natural justice and fair procedures, pending further order. The application was made by his counsel Cathy Smith following a one-side only represented application. The judge said it was "an extraordinary and regrettable tale" and it was quite clear Mr Mullaly was entitled to the interim relief sought. The case comes back next week.
