A 71-year-old woman has told a court her life became a nightmare because of drunken revellers publicly having sex, exposing themselves, urinating and defecating outside her flat after leaving two nightclubs in Dublin.
Mrs Mary Laird, a pensioner, broke down in tears as she told Judge Jacqueline Linnane in the Dublin Circuit Civil Court of sleepless nights, stress and fear for her life because of the "appalling behaviour" of early morning clubbers between 1997 and 1999 in Lower Mount Street.
Mr Benedict O'Floinn, counsel for Mrs Laird, of Verschoyle Court, Stephen's Place, told the court she lived behind O'Dwyers of Mount Street, a pub which ran two nightclubs, Howl at the Moon for people in their early 20s and Danse Macabre for those around 30.
Mrs Laird, who is suing O'Dwyers for damages and an injunction restraining nuisance, outlined a litany of abuses in the early hours of the morning which, she claimed, she had to put up with since moving "for a peaceful retirement" to a senior citizens' flats complex behind O'Dwyers in June 1997.
Mrs Laird told the court of sexual acts being performed in public while men stood urinating and "watching the procedure". She also described men and women urinating "in unison" and rowdy scenes in which men fought and pushed each other; thumping music from the nightclubs, despite the publican having fitted double-glazing in her apartment; a woman telling her to "f--- off" when she complained about cars being parked outside her flat; and bins, barrels and cylinders being dragged out of the pub in the middle of the night.
Mrs Laird told Mr Paul O'Neill, counsel for O'Dwyer Brothers (Mount Street) Ltd, that the pub owners had instigated changes and, while things had improved since 1999, people still urinated in her street and car noise kept her awake. She said the music noise problem had been resolved but there was still the stench of urine and vomit on the street.
Garda Supt Tom Murphy said that in March 1999 he had written to O'Dwyers as part of an objection to a special exemption order the pub was seeking . Supt Murphy told Mr O'Neill that things had since then substantially improved.
With regard to Mrs Laird having witnessed sexual acts in public, he said a nearby area was used by prostitutes to pick up clients and they normally took them to quiet spots such as the Dublin City Council senior citizens' complex.
Pub owner Mr Liam O'Dwyer said his company owned 13 large pubs in Dublin and in every case they took the feelings of people in neighbouring property into account. He said €100,000 had been spent improving the air-conditioning to cut down noise.
Mr O'Dwyer agreed with Mr O'Floinn that a lot of the disturbance caused to Mrs Laird could have been avoided had steps been taken earlier.
The hearing was adjourned.