A RURAL pub landlord has been fined £750 after being found guilty of allowing the consumption of alcohol outside permitted hours.
Hilary Joseph Maguire (55), of Sligo Road, Enniskillen, the landlord of the Halfway Inn, Letterbreen was found guilty at Enniskillen Magistrates Court.
The prosecutor told the court that on August 25 of this year police followed up a noise complaint at the pub at 2.26am. When they arrived they observed 40 people outside the pub drinking from open containers.
When an inspection of inside was carried out a further 12 people were discovered drinking from open containers. The licence holder, Maguire, was unable to produce a till receipt for the transactions after hours. He was cautioned to which he replied: “No comment”.
At the time a community event was taking place in close proximity and a further 50 people were camped in the field and farmyard directly opposite the premises. No admissions were made on behalf of the defendant.
It was confirmed in court that the entertainment licence at the pub only permitted alcohol to be served until 1.30am, meaning the pub was approximately an hour in excess of the law.
Bernard Corrigan, defending, explained that this was a rural pub and there were difficulties obtaining taxis to and from the location, especially while there was a music event going on adjacent to the premises.
Mr Corrigan told the court that the people inside were waiting on taxis and said that the people camping nearby were in no way connected to the licenced premises.
Mr Corrigan acknowledged there was a previous record of relevance, but that this was of some vintage dating back to 2007.
In closing the defence solicitor asked for some credit for the early plea and highlighted the difficult times licenced premises currently face, which are made doubly hard in a country setting.
District judge Nigel Broderick said he could not ignore the fact that Maguire had a relevant conviction and imposed the fine.
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