The trial of two bar staff accused of the manslaughter of a British man at a hotel in Co Tipperary has heard they had no training on the potential dangers of fatal doses of alcohol.
The court heard the two men were told to “meet all the needs” of hotel guests, including serving guests drinks.
Bar manager at Hayes Hotel, Gary Wright, and barman Aidan Dalton, both from Borrisleigh, Co Tipperary, deny the manslaughter of Graeme Parish, through gross negligence.
It is alleged the bar staff served Mr Parish (26) eight shots of spirits in a pint glass at the hotel bar, which he downed in one go, a few hours before he was found dead from alcohol poisoning.
The English man had been celebrating his birthday with a group of co-workers at the bar when he allegedly challenged them to a drinking bet that, he could down a half pint of spirits faster than anyone else could drink a half pint of beer.
Manager of the Hayes Hotel, Gerry McGovern, agreed in court that one of the main duties of the two accused was to ensure “all reasonable care was taken” for all guests at the hotel.
Mr McGovern, who has been manager of the hotel for the past 22 years, also agreed that bar staff at the hotel were supposed to follow a number of unwritten rules including not to serve alcohol to persons perceived by staff as having too much drink taken; or who were being a nuisance; or who were unsteady on their feet.
The hotel manager told the court that the rule is not to serve alcohol if the person is “stumbling”.
He admitted that Mr Wright and Mr Dalton had not received any training on the potential dangers of fatal doses of alcohol.
Mr McGovern also told Nenagh Circuit Court that job descriptions for both accused men, which were supposed to have been read and signed by the two accused when they started working at the hotel, could not be located.
It was heard that one of the codes of conduct for bar staff was that if they were wilfully disobedient they would be in breach of their work practices.
Mr McGovern said the two accused men were still working at Hayes Hotel in Thurles and described them as intelligent, hard working, responsible and trustworthy.