Hi °C | Lo °C A SECURITY guard who was fired from his job at the home of millionaire JP McManus has dropped his claim for unfair dismissal.
John Alymer (32) had been due to testify before an Employment Appeals Tribunal (EAT) in Limerick today after he was sacked from his job in 2010.
He lost his job after he was caught sleeping during a random security check at the estate of the racing tycoon.
Mr Alymer, of Emly, Co Tipperary, took a case against JP McManus's wife, Noreen, trading as Martinstown Stud, and claimed that he was unfairly dismissed and did not receive minimum notice.
The McManus estate, which is home to one of the biggest mansions in the country, boasts an extensive art collection, high-value race horses, motor vehicles and equine machinery.
Mr Alymer worked for the McManus family for 10 years and earned €459.48 net weekly pay before he was fired.
It is understood that Mr Alymer only instructed his legal representatives, English Leahy solicitors in Tipperary, to withdraw the case in recent days.
It is unknown if a compromise was reached between the McManus family and their former security guard since the case was first heard last November.
There was no comment on the matter from Martinstown Stud last night.
The tribunal heard last November that in the early hours of June 9, 2010, Mr Alymer's supervisor, DJ Roche, along with another man, began a covert operation to see if the McManus estate could be penetrated. The two men gave evidence that they came upon Mr Alymer sound asleep in a security hut at one of Martinstown's three entrances.
Barrister Mairead McKenna, for Martinstown Stud, told the previous hearing that the security officer was "sound asleep to the point they could hear him snoring outside the hut".
Intruders
Pickles – a security dog – was barking loudly at the intruders, but at all times Mr Alymer "remained comatosed in sleep" with his arms folded, his legs up and his shoes off.
The two men observed him sleeping for another 20 minutes before Mr Alymer's phone alarm went off at 3.40am.
The security officer woke up, shook himself down and left the hut for a patrol of the estate.
Ms McKenna said the security officer needed to be alert at a moment's notice and "it was a gross dereliction of his duties".
When dismissed, Mr Alymer was on a written warning following previous incidents.
Irish Independent
