Morris tribunal:Gardaí had to deal with a "near riot" after Raphoe publican Frank McBrearty Snr sold alcohol at reduced prices in an attempt to hold on to customers at his nightclub during what he claims was a sustained campaign of Garda harassment against his family 10 years ago, the Morris tribunal heard.
Insp Philip Lyons afterwards wrote a report to the superintendent in Letterkenny outlining the events of 4-5 July 1997, when he was on duty in the north Donegal border town.
Insp Lyons said that at around 2am, when between 800 and 900 people exited the nightclub, "the atmosphere and the overall situation changed." Many of the revellers were underage, and "the vast majority of the crowd was drunk," Insp Lyons reported.
"Fights broke out among the youths. It became a near riot situation." Five people were arrested, and gardaí were in danger of being overpowered by the "mob", Insp Lyons reported, and "the situation remained hostile until well after 3am". But the 62-year-old publican disputed the account of the evenings events given in the inspector's report.
"I was there the night that Inspector was there," Mr Frank McBrearty Snr said.
"That is a completely different picture to what happened." "There was no fight." Mr McBrearty Snr complained that gardaí inspected his nightclub several times a night, and set up checkpoints and searched patrons on the way to the nightclub, thus discouraging business.
"The harassment on the street where the buses couldn't get up to pick up the people was caused by the guards," he said.
Earlier he conceded that he did have an "early warning system" installed so that lights would flash in the bar of his nightclub to warn the staff of Garda inspections.
Mr McBrearty Snr, who earlier said he did not have such a system in place, said that he had thought about the matter overnight and the lights were installed because his staff were being harassed by Sgt John White.
Mr White had said that the doormen at Mr McBrearty's Raphoe nightclub were able to warn staff if he carried out inspections to enforce the licensing laws. The tribunal has heard that 69 summons were served over an 18 month period against Mr McBrearty Snr, a licensee who had only five licensing convictions over the previous 20 year period.