Fraud and mismanagement at University College Cork

cork | education | other press Thursday August 28, 2025 18:30 by Calli Morganite

UCC has paid huge sums to a criminal professor

This story is not for republication. I bear responsibility for the things I write. I have read the guidelines and understand that I must not write anything untrue, and I won't.
This is a public interest story about a complete failure of governance and management at UCC.

I've been too fearful to speak out in the past. I don't want to be silenced by fear any more. The public, including the students and families of students, should have known long ago what the 'leadership' team and governing body of UCC has been doing.

indymedia ireland is independent and may be willing to publish this.

For many years UCC has caused a lot of harm to me personally, and the 'leadership team' has also allowed the university to be accused of dishonesty, fraud, and employing dangerous professors who should not have been near students or colleagues.

UCC's employment of a criminal, fraudulent, thieving, abusing, and dangerous professor is at the root of this story.

I feel really sad to imagine how this could make some of the students and graduates feel. But the university IS the students, it isn't the leadership team who are employees of the state. These public 'officials' have failed the students, and they've caused a lot of harm.

I'm not sure how best to begin so I'll start with some prompts.
What safeguards do you imagine would be in place for employees at a university who will be conducting animal and human research?
What background checks do you think would take place? More or fewer than those for someone working in a local council office, or in an abattoir?
What would be the kind of references that would be needed? Ones from relatives, or friends, or employers?

If you imagined that there would be significant safeguards in place then you're wrong. If you thought that there would be thorough background checks, also incorrect. For references, if you chose 'friends', then you got one right.

If your CV has on it that your 'animals in scientific research' licences have been revoked, do not fear. You can be recruited and paid a very high salary by UCC. If in your past most recent role you were merrily involved in Gross Misconduct, feel free to pop your application to UCC in the mail.

If you are a thief and you stole many thousands from your last employing university, you are welcome and supported at UCC. Well, it does boast about its love of diversity after all.

You will be supported in grant applications for yet more public funds, and funded by UCC to try to patent human genes. I will talk more about the gene patents shortly.

If you don't want to live in Ireland whilst you are employed in a senior role at UCC, you are welcome to live in another country and fly in for a couple of days a week. All you need is a bank account in Ireland to enable UCC to pay your salary and huge expenses, and you can of course transfer them straight to your home country.

Nora Geary has not a single clue what 'risk management' means, and she bears a lot of responsibility. As do John O'Halloran, Patrick O'Shea, Diarmuid Collins, Paul McSweeney, Stephen Byrne, Michael Murphy and others. It is very depressing to see how they all are in position when I know what has gone on during their watch. I think this story may have been a factor in Patrick O'Shea's departure.

I didn't want the students and their families to be affected, and I'm worried about how this may make them feel about the institution which awards them their degrees. But silence is helping the 'leaders' above stay in their vastly overpaid roles. It has all happened on their watch. I believe they should be on trial and not 'leading' anything.

In the last few years the 'leaders' have taken part in grievous dishonesty in attempts to cover-up the employment of someone so dangerous. Their employment brought no benefits to anyone but him and undoubtedly to the rankings since UCC claimed the professor had been involved in many cited publications which he had not been. In other words, UCC advertised falsely attributed publications and I would predict UCC also submitted those to any research evaluations.
Please, ask me anything and I will try to answer if I can.

Calli