Jerry Mahon fined €1,250 for the July incident in Co Clare
A pub owner in Co Clare has been fined after he told gardai to “f** off” when they raided his pub’s busy 3 am lock-in.
The Independent reports that Jerry Mahon’s Fiddle Head Pub in the rural west Clare village of Kilmihill was packed with 23 customers when gardai arrived at 3:05 am on July 7th.
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Garda Paul Madden arrived several hours after the closing time of 12:30 am to find locals with pints in hand and still being served.
In court, Garda Madden said: “I found Jerry Mahon to be in an intoxicated state. I asked him to see at the cash register the last sale of intoxicating liquor and he said that he would get it for me in a while.”
Madden added that when he asked Mahon to see the liquor license for the pub, “he told me to f**k off.”
“His wife was also on the premises and she showed me the liquor license and it was in order.”
Mahon was previously convicted of serving alcohol ‘after hours’ and was fined €50 in court on January 28th 2017.
This week, Mahon failed to appear in court for the hearing about the July incident, stating that he was “caught doing a job.”
The presiding Judge Durcan said: “Caught doing a job? He should have been here because this is the job he should have been doing.”
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Ultimately, Mahon was fined a total of €1,250: €500 for keeping his pub open for the sale of alcohol between 12.30am and 10.30am, and €750 for using foul and abusive language towards Garda Madden contrary to Section 6 of the Public Order Act.
Judge Durcan said: “Any licensed publican who treats Gardai in the manner that Garda Paul Madden was treated on the 7th of July deserves nothing other than contempt from the court.”
He added: “I find it appalling that somebody in the privileged position to hold a license shows the level of contempt to Garda Madden and for this court that he has.”
Judge Durcan did acknowledge the importance of the pub in terms of socializing in rural communities.
Do you agree or disagree with the penalty Jerry Mahon received? Let us know in the comments!
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