A Kerry hotel and two of its directors were fined a total of £1,200 and ordered to pay expenses of £400 (€508) at Killarney District Court yesterday for offences under the Company Act.

The Muckross Park Hotel Ltd, Muckross Hotel Killarney, a four-star hotel, and its directors, Mr Michael Moriarty, of Moriarty and Murphy Accountants, Flemings Lane, Killarney, and Ms Jackie Lavin of "Osberstown House", Naas, Co Kildare, were charged with failing to hold an annual general meeting in 1999, despite having been notified by the Department "on a number of occasions", State solicitor Mr Ed O'Sullivan said. The maximum fine for such an offence was £500, he said.

Vital information was also requested by the Department, Mr O'Sullivan said, and the defendants were being prosecuted for failing to provide this. The maximum fine for the failure was £250.

The case was described as "the most technical of technical offences likely ever to come before the court", by solicitor for the defendants, Mr Padraig O'Connell.

He said it arose "from a disaffected individual who made the complaint". The company's hands were tied, it simply could not make the information or the returns available, Mr O'Connell added.

There had been no previous convictions or any difficulty of any nature, he said, and all parties pleaded guilty and co-operated fully with the court.

Judge Humphrey Kelleher convicted them on each offence and fined them £200 on each charge plus £400 expenses.