Mary Stokes’ son John was refused a place in the school on the grounds of a policy that prioritises the sons of former pupils, which she believes amounted to indirect discrimination against her son.
She subsequently brought a court action against the school, challenging its admissions policy, lodging a complaint with the Equality Tribunal back in 2010.
Mrs Stokes argued that the admissions policy gave an unfair disadvantage to the Traveller community, as their children are less likely to have a father who attended secondary school.
While the Tribunal initially found in favour of John, awarding him a place in the school, this decision was then overturned in the Circuit Court in 2011.
An appeal was then launched in 2012, with the Supreme Court this week ruling that it did not have the jurisdiction to hear the appeal.
A spokesperson for the Irish Traveller movement today said she was “disappointed” by the final outcome of the case.
In light of the recent statistics released on segregation in Irish schools, this is an extremely disappointing result. We hope that the Government will give the issue due consideration in forthcoming legislation.
