Publicans in Waterford have denied discriminating against Travellers after a group who attended a Travellers' wedding in the city last week was denied entry to a number of pubs.
More than 400 guests attended the triple wedding at the Tower Hotel on Tuesday of last week. A party of four who left the wedding temporarily say licensed premises refused to serve them, offering a variety of reasons.
The group comprised two Travellers, Mr Patrick Cash, who was the groom in one of the three weddings, and his brother, John, as well as a former Waterford county councillor, Mr Garry O'Halloran, and his wife, Ann.
Mr O'Halloran, who is PRO of the Southern Travellers' Justice Group and was a guest at the triple wedding, has written to the Attorney General, Mr Michael McDowell, and the Garda Commissioner, Mr Pat Byrne, complaining in detail about their treatment.
He said the four first attempted to enter The Reginald bar across the road from the Tower at about 7.35 p.m., but were told by two doormen that admission on the night was by invitation only from the South East Regional Tourism Organisation, which was holding a private function for hoteliers. He had since had it confirmed that no such function existed.
They then proceeded to Jordan's on The Quay, where both the main and side doors were locked. Inside the side door was a sign stating "Private Party".
They then tried Egan's on Barronstrand Street at 7.55 p.m., where a doorman informed the group "in no uncertain fashion" that they would not be allowed in. Lord's on Arundel Lane was their next port of call at 8.10 p.m. Mr O'Halloran claims a barman said they would not be served and the bar was closing in the next few minutes.
They then tried to enter Reddy's bar on High Street at 8.30 p.m. but were advised, Mr O'Halloran says, that admission was by invitation only to a 21st birthday party.
In response to Mr O'Halloran's allegations, Mr Pat Rockett, manager of The Reginald, said a private function was being held on the premises on the night in question. He strongly denied, however, that the South East Tourism organisation, which was not the client involved, was mentioned by the doormen.
Mr Rockett said The Reginald had a very strict admission policy on dress codes and conduct, but it was applied equally and there was no question of discrimination against any ethnic group. Monday to Wednesday was a quiet period and he would always accept bookings for private functions on those days if he could get them. Regular customers, he added, were also turned away on the night.
A man who described himself as the manager at Jordan's said he was not on duty on the night in question but he knew that a private function had taken place. He declined to discuss the matter further, saying he had customers to serve.
Lord's also denied discriminating against any ethnic group, including Travellers.
The manager of Reddy's, who asked not to be named, made an allegation to this column about the behaviour of six men who called to the pub on the night of the wedding. This appears to have been a different group from that of Mr O'Halloran and his friends. The manager refused, however, to make any further comment.
The owner of Egan's, Mr Tom Reid, said he ran a "cosmopolitan bar" which served people of "different nationalities and different colour - I don't discriminate against anybody". But he said large groups of people, whether they were "Irish stag parties, English stag parties, or whoever", were a different matter, as the peace and comfort of customers in the pub had to be protected.
Mr Reid said there were hundreds of Travellers at the wedding in the Tower, "and 600 of any group, I'd be petrified of them". Mr O'Halloran, he said, was a "Trojan horse", adding: "He comes here with two, and 22 more come in five minutes later".
He also alleged that when Mr O'Halloran's party tried to gain entry, a group of Travellers was watching the situation from the other side of the street. The whole episode, he said, had been orchestrated by Mr O'Halloran.
Mr O'Halloran denied yesterday that the pubs concerned had been "set up" in any way. "We were genuinely surprised by what happened. We accepted that the first premises, The Reginald, was having an invitation function, but when we went around the corner and found the same thing again we were getting wary. It was only when we got to the third premises that we called the guards."
The group had left the hotel, he said, while the function room was being prepared for the evening following the wedding meal. He said no alcohol had been served during the meal and the four had consumed only one drink each before leaving the hotel.
Mr O'Halloran is critical of the Garda response, claiming the group was told by gardai it was a civil matter. This is one of the reasons he wrote to the Garda Commissioner. A Garda spokesman in Waterford said there did not appear to have been a breach of the criminal law and therefore gardai had no function in the matter.
The Equal Status Bill, which specifically makes it an offence to discriminate on the basis of ethnic background, is expected to be enacted later this year.
