The chairman of the Harold School board in Dublin’s Glasthule Eddie Shaw resigned last Tuesday night.
It
followed controversy over his arranging for leaflets to be distributed
to children at the school in advance of the ProLife Campaign’s `Vigil
for Life’ in the Dublin on June 8th.
In a
statement last night he said that he had, “after careful consultation
and reflection, submitted my resignation as Chairman of the Board of the
Harold School with immediate effect.”
He continued “I want to repeat my unreserved
apology to teachers and parents for the deep distress and
understandable upset caused by my action. The responsibility for this
action was mine, and mine alone.”
Recalling that
his own children attended the Harold School he said: “I have been
involved in the school in a personal and voluntary capacity for the last
30 years and have always had the best interests of the school at
heart.”
He concluded by wishing “the board,
principal, parents, teachers and all involved in the continuing
education and development of the children in this great school every
possible success and fulfillment.”
At a stormy
meeting last Thursday, Mr Shaw, who succeeded Senator Rónán Mullen as
Cardinal Connell’s spokesman in September 2002 and who is head of public
relations at Carr Communications, apologised to the school parents’ association.
Minutes
of the meeting seen by The Irish Times state that “on Friday the 7th of
June, a notice for a pro-life vigil was put in the bags of three
classes. The leaflets were intended for every bag in the school but some
teachers either chose not to put them in and others forgot.
“The
leaflet highlighted a vigil taking place last weekend for the Pro-Life
Campaign against the upcoming legislation on abortion. The parent body
were outraged that the children were being used as vehicle to promote a
controversial campaign,” it said.