ANDREW Carey was in court when Judge Tom O’Donnell gave his landmark ruling, one that reverberated far and wide
IN A Landmark ruling given at Limerick District Court on Thursday, March 25, Judge Tom O’Donnell upheld the application made by some 100 vintners in Limerick city and surrounding urban areas to allow them open their premises on Good Friday, April 2. An application was put before the court under section 10 of the Intoxicating liquor Act 1962, where an area exemption was sought to allow pubs to trade on Good Friday.
Judge O’Donnell heard on Tuesday March 23, legal arguments from solicitors Gearoid McGann, on behalf of the applicants, and Solr Michael Murray, on behalf of the Gardai and the state.
On Thursday, Judge O’Donnell delivered his ruling stating that the “genesis of the application was that a Magners League game between Munster and Leinster was on in Thomond Park on Friday, April 2, Good Friday, and that local vintners sought to open their pubs for a period of time, between 6pm and midnight on that day.
“I must firstly compliment both sides on their arguments, they were both clear and persuasive and made the decision even harder. I heard oral evidence from Mr Jerry O’Dea, a local vintner and licence holder, from Mr Sean Lally, hotelier at the Strand Hotel, and member of many bodies in Limerick, and Mr Mark O’Connell, economist, at BDO Simpson Xavier.
“Each presented evidence to support the case and we heard some very interesting, social, anthropological and economic evidence from Mr O’Connell”.
Judge O’Donnell noted that the state presented their case through cross-examination.
He added: “Certain proofs had to be presented before the court. Under section 10 of the legislation, the applicant is obliged to be a licence holder in the area. That’s a given. The applicant must not be from the county borough of Dublin. That’s a given. There must be a evidence of an event or special event taking place in the area at that time. That’s a given. There must be a considerable amount of people in the area. That’s a given. For an area exemption, those proofs must be in order.
“Mr O’Dea gave us evidence that the application was brought as a last resort after efforts made by the vintners were in vain. He went on to relate that he had unanimous approval from his members, and that the match was the biggest sporting event on the domestic rugby calendar in Ireland. Mr O’Dea added that there would be an influx of people and visitors to the area, with Leinster taking up their full allocation for the game.
“The game is an annual event, and the Magners League is in existence since 2001, and avails of teams playing home and away fixtures”.
In his ruling, Judge O’Donnell added that the evidence from Mr Sean Lally of the Strand Hotel, told the court of the 26,000 fans that would be in Thomond Park and the hotels would be full.
“Mr Lally said that the game even had an international flavour as journalists from the UK were booked into his hotel to report on the game. We heard that over 2,000 room nights would be availed of and that certain hotels, including Mr Lally’s property, had to turn away pre and post match functions.
“He even equated the match to be on a par with the famous Galway Plate.
“In Mr O’Connell’s {BDO Simpson Xavier} evidence, I heard of the surveys carried out by his firm and the detail of a projected €5 to €7 million boost the game would bring to the local economy.
Judge O’Donnell continued with his deliberations, noting the legal submissions made by both parties when attempting to ascertain the definition of a ‘Special event’ by using the quoted case law of Rahilly V Brady 1971, the comments of judge Cearbhall O Dalaigh,
The district court judge noted the case law that Mr McGann furnished the court pertaining to an application for a dance licence in Kilkee in 1961.
The 1971 comments of Judge Budd on the definition of a special event, were also referred to in the application, as well as those of Justice Gannon in the High Court in 1984, on whether a wedding was deemed to be a special event and suitable for such a licence.
In all the case law before the court, Judge O’Donnell noted that not one piece of legislation presented could definitively compare to the application before him.
“The object of the presented case law was to assist the court to determine the meaning of a special event. Mr McGann’s application hinges on the fact that the match in question does constitute a special event under section 10 of the Intoxicating liquor act 1962.
“Mr Murray’s contention is that the event is annual and is not a special event but an event that is happening on a special day. Having read the case law several times, I have determined that this area exemption is different.
“An important feature of this case is the presence of a National Sporting Arena Licence at Thomond Park, one of two in the country. I believe that Croke Park has a similar licence. This licence enables the holders to sell intoxicating liquor from the time they open their gates, and up to one hour after the match.
Judge O’Donnell pointed out that there is no necessity for holders of this type of licence to apply to the courts to firstly obtain the licence, and secondly to sell liquor on Good Friday. He noted that there is no judicial scrutiny for such licensing, except in the instance of prosecution.
“I find it absurd that the pubs will be closed in the locality given the fact that the patrons of Thomond Park will be able to buy drink at the match”.
He said that he didn’t think that the gardai would be “keen on having 26,000 people hanging around Thomond Park after the game”, adding that the “gardai would be keen to have the crowd dispersed quickly”.
He commented that he was satisfied that the match had the attributes and vestiges of a special event.
“I’m granting the application, but subject to one condition, and it is to amend the trading hours to 6pm to 11.30pm”.
Noting that his decision may be seen with some controversy, Judge O’Donnell closed proceedings by signing the area map submitted to the court that outlined the areas in Limerick covered by the exemption. Those were, Limerick city, Raheen Dooradoyle, Annacotty, Corbally and Castletroy.
Before leaving the bench, and noting that the controversy that may surround the case, Judge O’Donnell concluded: “This District Court is not a court of precedent, it is a court of record”.
