A school teacher who was accused of forcing a ‘vulnerable’ boy to stand outside in the cold in his underwear as ‘punishment’ and of ordering another student to attack him with a T-square went on to become the principal of a school for special needs students, the Irish Mail on Sunday can reveal.

An investigation by Tusla, the State child and family agency, concluded a series of abuse allegations made by a former student against the now principal of Belmayne Community Special School, in Dublin, were ‘founded’.

John Condon was accused of abusing a former student when he was working as a teacher and housemaster, at the Good Counsel School, in New Ross, Co. Wexford, between 2001 and 2003.

The student, Páidí Manning, was ‘shocked’ to discover his alleged abuser had gone on to become the principal of a school for vulnerable children two years after Tusla upheld his allegations. 

Tusla said if allegations are ‘founded’, it means ‘on the balance of probabilities, that child abuse did occur’. 

When allegations were put to Mr Condon – also the former head of education for Down Syndrome Ireland – this weekend, he said repeatedly: ‘I am shocked.’

He did not respond to queries based on the Tusla investigation or say if he disclosed the finding against him to his current or former employers.

Outlining his school’s ethos on the website of its patron, the Dublin and Dún Laoghaire Education and Training Board (DDLETB), Mr Condon wrote: ‘At Belmayne Community Special School, we believe every child carries their own unique light, and it is our privilege to help that light shine brightly. 

'We strive to create a safe, nurturing, and inspiring environment where children with additional needs feel understood, valued, and encouraged to grow every day.’ 

In his statement to Tusla, Mr Manning said he made a complaint to gardaí in 2018 after he became aware of Mr Condon’s position working with vulnerable children. 

He wrote: ‘I was an incredibly vulnerable child and I suffered under John Condon’s rule; my vulnerability was even used against me in order to silence and belittle me. As a child, I stayed silent and bottled everything up.

‘As an adult, I’ve come forward because I believed and still believe that no child, special needs or otherwise, should have to put up with the behaviour I had to endure and that by staying silent, I was potentially allowing history to repeat itself.’ 

He told Tusla that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) ruled there would be no prosecution. 

He believes this is because language in his statement used by gardaí ‘minimised’ the abuse. He detailed a catalogue of abuse he allegedly suffered at the hands of Mr Condon, including claims that:

■ The then school housemaster ‘regularly’ forced him and fellow boarders to stand outside in the cold in their underwear as ‘punishment’ for speaking after ‘lights out’ at 10pm;

■ The teacher forced the then teenager and another student to sit back-to-back in the dark in their underwear, as punishment;

■ Mr Condon ordered Mr Manning to kneel head-to-floor with his backside raised;

■ Mr Condon allowed prefects to drag him and other students ‘from our beds’ before being ‘physically kicked and stomped on, punched’;

■ He witnessed his then teacher assault two of his fellow students;

■ Mr Condon ordered a prefect to assault him with a T-square;

The victim, who is now in his late 30s, also told Tusla Mr Condon arranged for him to move rooms to share a room with an older student who had previously bullied him relentlessly, despite the fact he had made a formal complaint about the bullying.

Mr Manning also described how Mr Condon gestured as if he were about to slap him across the face.

He said that when he flinched, his former teacher commented ‘people only flinch who are hit at home’, before walking away saying ‘interesting’. 

Mr Manning said he was left terrified by what he felt was a threat to ‘my family and home life. Everything I held dear was dangled in front of me and weaponised against me’.

Mr Manning – who was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder at 20 and has ADHD and Dyspraxia – said the abuse has remained with him. He said this week he is extremely concerned for the welfare of people with special needs currently under Mr Condon’s care and supervision. 

In a letter to Mr Manning, Tusla said the purpose of their assessment was to ‘reach a determination on the balance of probability as the whether the allegations are founded or unfounded’. 

It said their final assessment concluded that the abuse ‘as reported’ by Mr Manning of both emotional and physical abuse was ‘founded’.

Tusla said they told Mr Condon of their decision and said he has the right to appeal their decision.

The Department of Education said under the Education Act 1998, schools are managed by boards of management, and these hire ‘school’s teachers and other staff members, except in Education and Training Board (ETB) schools’.

They added: ‘Any actions in relation to the school employee, in relation to employment matters, are exclusively a matter for the employer and as such are not matters within the remit of the Department of Education and Youth.’ 

DDLETB this weekend said it takes ‘child protection very seriously’ and was ‘reviewing’ queries relating to allegations made against Mr Condon and the Tusla finding against him. 

Tusla did not respond to the Mail's queries on whether Mr Condon had appealed their finding.