A Temple Bar hotel which, according to gardai, had become the haunt of city centre criminal families, has been refused late licences after a court heard evidence of drug abuse and violence at its nightclub.
Judge Con O'Leary described the Mission nightclub at the River House Hotel, Eustace Street, as a "disgraceful abuse of facilities provided to investors in the development of Temple Bar".
After hearing evidence of ecstasy, cocaine and cannabis distribution on the premises, he said: "This type of thing is on the verge of destroying what Temple Bar was set up to provide." Insp Tom Murphy told Dublin District Court that criminal families such as the Mitchells and the Hutches from the north inner city frequented the place.
He said violence between rival drug gangs at the night club during the early hours of October 27th last were the worst he had seen in 24 years as a Garda officer.
One man was stabbed in the arm with a broken bottle and there was blood in pools outside the front door, down the stairs and over the walls and seats of the club.
The rave music was still playing although the floor was littered with broken glass and people were standing around with blood on their hands and faces.
"I tried to make my way in but was forced back because the crowd was hostile. I saw some people covered in blood running out the fire escape."
He said the club owners had been warned repeatedly about problems with the club but had failed to rectify them.
The inspector added that on one occasion the smell of cannabis was so strong it produced a stinging sensation similar to that experienced by him when incinerating confiscated cannabis.
When he tried to search some people under the Misuse of Drugs Act on September 1st the lights were put out and afterwards there were cannabis cigarettes and white powder seen on the floor.
On five different occasions between August and Septembers he visited the club and saw bottled water being sold at the bar with "scantily clad" young people dancing and sweating profusely which was, said the inspector, evidence of ecstasy abuse.
He said there were breaches of the licensing laws ad nauseam and the licence nominee, John Harty, and manager, Frank Conway, had been warned earlier this month on the day before the fight that some fatality was going to occur at the place either from drugs or violence.
Mr Joe Finnegan SC, for the owners, The Peg Sayers Hotel Partnership, asked for one last chance to put things right and said the problems had arisen with "undesirables" coming into the club after other venues like The System, The Temple of Sound and The Harp were closed down.
Mr Harty denied there was any drug abuse at the club and although he had not visited the hotel at all last week promised to attend every night next week if the special exemptions were granted.
Judje O'Leary turned down applications to cover yesterday until November 3rd, and 25 further applications were then withdrawn by the owners.