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GAZETTE
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER
Happenings in the Licensing Courts
From time immemorial until the mind of man runneth not
to the contrary and until the matter came before District
Justice Donnelly, it was accepted that if a Special Event
continued for a period in excess of three days, one could
and did with regularity, apply for successive Occasional
Licences to ensure that adequate supplies of intoxicating
liquor were available to the attendants of the special
event. However, when Aer Lingus Teoranta made
application for two successive Licences to District Justice
Donnelly in February, 1977, on the occasion of a Boat
Show being held at the Simmonscourt Extension of the
R.D.S., the learned District Justice looked into Section 11
of the Intoxicating Liquor Act, 1962, and his Judgment
was a bombshell that sent applicants, Aer Lingus
Teoranta, supported and aided and abetted by the
Federation of Marine Industries, the Royal Dublin
Society and Bord Failte Eireann, rocketing to the High
Court on a Mandamus application. The learned District
Justice said he had no jurisdiction under Section 11 to
grant more than one Occasional Licence for one event.
The matter foremost in everybody's mind was how could
such events as the Boat Show, the Spring Show, the
Horse Show, Galway Races and Tralee Festival, possibly
succeed as financial enterprises and tourist attractions if
intoxicating liquor could not be readily available at all
times to all who attended. The matter came before Judge
Hamilton in the High Court, and after lengthy legal
submissions, citing Case Law and Statutes, dating back
to 1862, Mr. Justice Hamilton, in delivering his
Judgment, endorsed District Justice Donnelly's view and
said that Section 11 of the 1962 Act was clear and
implicit, only one Occasional Licence could be granted
for each special event, and no Occasional Licence can
exceed a period of three days. This decision was
recognised in both Houses of the Oireachtas as having
such far reaching effects that the wheels of amending
legislation were oiled and put into immediate motion, and
in April, 1977, the Intoxicating Liquor Act, 1977, came
into being. The position now is that only one Occasional
Licence can be granted per special event, but no
Occasional Licence can exceed a period of six days. It is
ironic to note that legislation can be enacted within a
period of weeks to ensure the drinking habits of the
populace are not interfered with, while many other Bills,
particularly within the Family Law field, are on the
"waiting list" for years.
During the months of April and May. Solicitors acting
for clients who made application to Court No. 1 Morgan
Place for Club authorisations pursuant to Section 21 of
the Intoxicating Liquor Act, 1924, as amended by
Section 8 of the Intoxicating Liquor Act, 1972, were sent
into a flurry of activity when the learned District Justice
said that the granting of a Club authorisation extending
the hours during which excisable liquor could be sold was
an extension only to members of the Club. This begged the
question as to whether or not non-members of the Club
could even be on the premises on such occasions. As the
majority of such applications were for Rugby Clubs and
Golf Clubs, which do not admit full lady members, the
female members of the profession who lined the benches
of Court No. 1 Morgan Place, were deeply concerned at
the implications of the District Justice's opinion, in case
their social outings after 11 p.m. into the all-male preserve
would be terminated. However, the learned District
Justice, having patiently heard a lot of legal argument on
the point, allowed common sense to prevail, and held that
on the hearing of such applications he would not
anticipate breaches of the Licensing Laws.
AUTUMN
SEMINAR
If you have booked into Bundoran for the Autumn
Seminar you have unfortunately booked into the
wrong place. Although we indicated in the July is-
sue of the Gazette that Bundoran would be the
venue for the Seminar it did not prove altogether
suitable for our requirements and we decided to opt
for Sligo instead.
The Autumn Seminar is now scheduled to take
place on the weekend of
1 5th/16th October
at
the
Sligo Pork Hotel, Sligo.
To those who
tried to beat the rush and are now assured of a place
in Bundoran —sorry!
The topic for the Seminar will be Motorists
Liability, Damages and Professional Negligence
and it is intended to cover the areas of litigation with
which the general practitioner will normally be con-
cerned.
The programme for the Seminar is as follows:—
Saturday, 15th October
9.30 a.m. Registration.
10.00 a.m. Processing of Motor Accident and Fac-
tory Accident Claims.
Speaker:
Henry Comerford, Solicitor.
11.00 a.m. Discussion.
11.30 a.m. Actuarial Assessment of Damages.
Speaker:
Peter Delaney F.I.A.
12.30 p.m. Discussion.
2.30 p.m. Defence of Road Traffic Acts Offences.
Speaker:
Kevin Haugh, B.L.
3.30 p.m. Discussion.
8.30 p.m. Banquet and Dance.
Sunday, 16th October
11.00 a.m. Professional Negligence.
Speaker:
Brian McCracken, S.C.
12.00 p.m. Discussion.
All Lectures will be held in
The Conference Area
of the Sligo Park Hotel
RATISt
Friday night to Sunday lunch
£20.00.
Registration fee
£4.00.
Train departs Houston Station Dublin: Friday,
14th October at 18.2S hrs.
Departs Sligo: Sunday, 16th October at 18 . 30
hrs.
Special return fare: £
S.OO.Alternative accommodation will be available in the event of
there being insufficient accommodation at the Sligo Park
Hotel.
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