Career
Eileen Flynn taught English and history at the Holy Faith Convent in New Ross. In August 1982 she was dismissed from her post. A letter sent to her by the school claimed that complaints had been made to the school by parents of pupils and said that she had rejected the schools norms of behaviour.
(Irish law did not recognise divorce at the time).
She took unfair dismissal cases to the Employment Appeal Tribunal and the Circuit Court as well as to the High Court, eventually losing all cases. The dismissal was controversial at the time, she was featured in the media and was later referred to during Dáil and Seanad debates, including that on the Employment Equality Bill.
She died suddenly on 9 September 2008 and her funeral was held on 12 September 2008. Marguerite Bolger claims that such a case is still possible.
Eileen Flynn herself was referred to in the Seanad debates as saying that it would still be possible to dismiss her under the legislation being debated in 1997.
The case has been mentioned in discussion of church-state relations.
