Fergal Barry, former president of Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT), has claimed he was lobbied by former Fine Gael ministers Mary Mitchell O’Connor and Michael Ring over an appointment process at the college. Barry has written to the Department of Further and Higher Education outlining the alleged “canvassing” by Mitchell O’Connor and Ring on behalf of a candidate who had applied for a role in the college during 2018. Barry resigned from his role as president of the college in May 2019. He claims to have been contacted on his mobile phone by Mitchell O’Connor in April 2018. In the conversation, she said she had received a great deal of communication from

Source: The Times September 26, 2020 23:03 UTC