Gardaí in Kerry investigating circumstances of gathering at Healy-Rae pub

Statement says context and veracity of social media content ‘remains to be verified’

Gardaí are investigating the circumstances behind a gathering in a pub owned by Independent TD for Kerry Danny Healy-Rae.

It follows preliminary inquiries made into the incident earlier this month.

That inquiry, effectively a scoping exercise, sought to confirm when the gathering took place and to establish if public health guidelines, or the laws governing pubs during the pandemic, were breached.

It relates to a wedding party alleged to have taken place in the pub in July before restrictions preventing indoor hospitality were lifted.

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In one photo posted online, Mr Healy-Rae is seen behind the bar pulling a pint with a group of about 30 others gathered without face coverings looking to the camera.

Mr Healy-Rae, who owns the Jackie Healy-Rae Bar in Kilgarvan, has made no substantive public comment on the matter.

In a statement on Thursday, gardaí said they do not comment directly on social media content "the context and veracity of which remains to be verified however An Garda Síochána are aware of images and video published online appearing to be an indoor gathering in a licensed premises.

“An investigation into this matter is ongoing by Gardaí in Kerry.”

In its previous statement on August 6th, they said they were carrying out preliminary enquiries into the matter but added “no complaint has been forthcoming at this time and no formal investigation has commenced”.

Mark Hilliard

Mark Hilliard

Mark Hilliard is a reporter with The Irish Times