A home-birth midwife who claims her solicitor allowed a judicial review hearing to be struck out in the High Court in 2002 against her wishes gave evidence before a solicitor's disciplinary tribunal in Dublin yesterday.
The claims by Ann Ó Ceallaigh (also known as Kelly) are strongly denied by her former solicitor, Colm MacGeehin.
Ms Ó Ceallaigh, who had sought a judicial review hearing of a decision about her by An Bord Altranais's fitness to practise committee in 2000, claims she turned up for the hearing, on December 4th, 2002, believing she had "all to play" for.
She was subsequently "devastated" to learn that her case had been struck out against her express wishes.
A fitness to practise committee of An Bord Altranais - the regulatory body for the nursing profession - had found her not guilty of professional misconduct in March 2000. This followed a complaint against her by the master of Holles Street a few years earlier alleging undue delay in bringing in a mother who was undergoing a long labour.
However, the committee recommended that she be censured and that her work be monitored.
Following a meeting of An Bord Altranais in October 2002, it subsequently dropped the requirement that she be monitored, but said that she was to be censured.
Ms Ó Ceallaigh told yesterday's hearing that throughout her dealings with her legal team, including Mr MacGeehin, she had made it clear that she wanted her name cleared, including the removal of the censure.
This position was made clear, she said, in written instructions which she faxed and had sent by courier to Mr MacGeehin's offices in the days before the review was due to be heard.
She also claims that at a meeting with her legal team on December 3rd, pressure was put on her to accept that the review be struck out, something to which she says she never agreed.
However, when she arrived at the Four Courts on December 4th, she was informed that the case had been settled. This was allowed for through an affidavit which said Mr MacGeehin prepared but which she never signed nor agreed to, she said.
Counsel for Mr MacGeehin, David Burke, said her claims were nothing short of "fantastic and convoluted" conspiracy theories and were reliant on "speculation and spin".
The hearing is due to resume on November 5th.