A DUBLIN hotel and nightclub has been selling alcohol for the past five months despite not having a drinks licence, a court heard yesterday.
Judge Joseph Mathews was told in the Circuit Licensing Court that every pub, club and hotel in the country at some time during every year did not have a licence to sell alcohol but carried on doing so.
Barrister Dorothy Collins said gardaí did not insist on closing down such temporarily unlicensed premises if the owners undertook to issue immediate applications for licence renewal.
Applying to revive the licence for the Peig Sayers Hotel, which trades in Temple Bar as The Mezz, The Hubb and Riverhouse Hotel,
Ms Collins said the drinks licence for the premises had expired on September 30th last year. “If the Revenue had not refused to give the applicant a tax clearance certificate, they would not now be in court.”
She said there had been a number of Temple Bar residents, some of whom lived above the hotel, who had objected in the District Court to the renewal of the licence on the grounds of planning and alleged noise nuisance. The case on behalf of 10 Temple Bar residents, including Irish Times environment editor Frank McDonald, had been partly heard over several days last July before they had withdrawn their objections.
The objectors, she said, could not now demand a second bite of the cherry to have a rehearing of objections they had withdrawn.
Colm Mac Eochaidh, counsel for the objectors, said he intended calling eight witnesses including noise experts and Environmental Health Authority officers.
Judge Mathews adjourned the application until March 26th.