A junior school has issued a warning to parents after a man allegedly tried to gain entry through the school’s locked gates while children were playing in the school yard.
Staff from Scoil Maelruain Junior School in Tallaght, south Dublin, who were supervising the young pupils, noticed a male ‘acting suspiciously’ at the locked gate into the playground.
In a letter to parents, seen by Irish Mirror, principal Mairead Ryan wrote that she “wished to stress that this man did not gain entry onto the school grounds” despite the efforts to do so.
But, she urged parents, due to “the serious nature of the incident” to speak with their children if they had any interaction with him. She also urged those parents to contact gardai at Tallaght Garda Station.
Ms Ryan stated the male was “immediately prevented from gaining entry by the teacher supervising the children.”
The male continued to loiter around the school gates and appeared to direct his camera phone towards children before a member of staff instructed him to put his camera away.
Gardai were called to the scene after another member of staff approached the male and asked him why he was there. Ms Ryan said in her letter the male changed his reply several times.
Confirming the incident, a spokesperson for the school told Irish Mirror: "Any queries from parents are being directed to Tallaght Garda Station."
In a statement gardai confirmed they were called to a premises in the Old Bawn area of Tallaght on Monday afternoon.
“Gardai engaged with a man at the scene and no arrests were made,” a spokesperson for An Garda Siochana said in the statement.
