Offaly woman in 'fake births' case freed after repaying €59,300

Tullamore Circuit Court hears Birr teacher made full restitution for false claims from Departments of Social Protection and Education

Published 5th Jun 2026, 15:27 BST Updated 5th Jun 2026, 15:32 BST Sentencing took place at Tullamore Circuit Court | Tribune Pictures Tullamore Circuit Court hears Birr teacher made full restitution for false claims from Departments of Social Protection and Education Sign up to our Offaly Live newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know you can manage your profile, and explore all of the available newsletters from Offaly Live within your account.

A BIRR woman at the centre of what Judge Keenan Johnson said was an “extraordinary case” has walked free from Tullamore Circuit Court after being in custody for five months.

Eimear Carroll (43), Hillside, Seffin, Birr, received payments of €12,425 as a result of deceiving the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection and the Department of Education in 2018 and 2019.

She had faked two pregnancies and births and the arrangement of maternity leave cover cost the State another €46,939, an initial sentencing hearing in January was told.

Ms Carroll was remanded in custody for psychological, probation and welfare reports and finalisation of sentencing was adjourned to this week.

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When she appeared before the court again today, Judge Johnson imposed a five-year sentence, backdated to February 1.

He suspended the balance of the sentence after Ms Carroll entered into a bond to keep the peace for seven years and remain under the supervision of the probation service for 12 months.

The maximum sentence for the offences committed by Ms Carroll was 10 years and Judge Johnson set the headline prison term at seven-and-a-half years, saying her offending was at the “upper end of the mid range”.

He reduced that to five years after mitigation, including the woman's early plea of guilty and her repayment of all the monies.

The loss of the money was the main “harm” resulting from her offending, said the judge.

“That harm has been undone by reimbursement,” said Judge Johnson.

He said the fraud perpetrated by Ms Carroll, which involved fake medical certificates, wearing a “false bump” to work, and creating names of children, meant there was a lot of premeditation.

The offending went on for 18 months to two years and he noted that it was a fraud which would inevitably have been discovered because there were no children.

The judge said reports indicated the woman thought she had been unfairly treated at work and used the “pregnancies” to get away from her employment.

He said she was unwell and had paranoid thinking. “Her actions were like something from a Walter Mitty novel.”

Ms Carroll, as a teacher, was in a position which required her to set the highest standards, added the judge.

“Her offending represented a huge fall from grace,” he remarked.

She was now taking prescribed medication, was suitable for supervision, had paid her debt and spent time in prison.

The judge finalised the sentence after John Shortt, SC, defending, said the psychological report which had been prepared since the last court appearance indicated Ms Carroll had acknowledged her wrongdoing.

She had done well in custody and a probation report indicated she was at low risk of reoffending.

Her family had helped her with full restitution “to clean her slate”, said Mr Shortt.

Defence counsel also said the accused had made initial contact with the Teaching Council with a view to re-employment but because of the “collateral damage” the prospects were probably unlikely.

Mr Shortt also said the woman was covered by VHI and that would pay for ongoing psychological treatment.

Ms Carroll had previously pleaded guilty to deception, forgery and the use of a false instrument.

Shane Geraghty, BL, prosecuting (instructed by Sandra Mahon, Offaly state solicitor) said the maximum penalties available to the court were five years for deception and 10 years for forgery and using a false instrument.

The court previous heard Ms Carroll claimed she had first given birth to a boy who was named Oran and then to a girl called Emily, who she said was premature.

She had also claimed she was married to a man named 'Peter Parsons' and supplied a PPS number for him but no person matching that name and number was found.

Garda James Martin, an investigator with the Department of Social Protection, said an investigation began as a result of information received in November 2018 from a social welfare inspector in Tullamore , Eileen Connolly in relation to suspected fraud.

Garda Martin said he found it unusual that there had been no claim for child benefit and he found that no birth had been registered by Eimear Carroll.

A consultant obstetrician named in documents said they had not been prepared by him. Documents from doctors, including a doctor at Clonminch Medical Centre, Tullamore, were created by the accused for her applications.

When Ms Carroll wrote a letter to her school principal informing her that her second baby had been born, the principal replied: “Heartiest congratulations on your great news”.

Gardai searched the accused's residence in Birr on February 13, 2019 and found no evidence that children or a husband were resident there. There was only one furnished bedroom in the house.

In a separate case previously, Ms Carroll had received a four-year sentence, with two of those years suspended, in July 2024 for harassment and stalking.

Related topics: Tullamore Circuit Court Department of Education Offaly Garda Judge Keenan Johnson Sign up to our Offaly Live newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know you can manage your profile, and explore all of the available newsletters from Offaly Live within your account.