JUDGE TOM O’Donnell was entitled to make the decision he did under Section 10 of the 1962 Intoxicating Liquor Act, according to licensing law expert Constance Cassidy SC.
This section deals with exemptions from licensing restrictions for “special events”. However, she said this decision does not create a precedent, as each future case will be decided on its own merits.
An event such as the Leinster-Munster rugby match was likely to be infrequent, she said. “I think the judge did look at the bigger picture. He would have been entitled to take a number of facts into account, including the fact that the match would inject €7.5 million into the local economy.
“With excise duty and VAT, the Government will net about €4 million of that,” she said. An amendment to the 1927 Act, introduced in 2008, also gave the court discretion to consider the issue of public safety, she said.
“It’s a very good decision. If it secures even one job in the present circumstances it will be worth it.”
The decision can be appealed by the Garda, but this is thought unlikely. It may also be capable of being appealed by a third party in the Circuit Court, such as a local resident or a religious group.
The law provides for any party with a bona fide interest in a licensing application to appear before the court.
However, the fact that no one objected to the licence when it was before the court could count against any application. A further practical difficulty for any would-be objector is the fact that the courts are about to begin their two-week Easter holidays. Anyone seeking to appeal the ruling would, therefore, have to do so today.
The case has highlighted the contradictory and antiquated nature of the licensing laws, some of which date to Victorian times. Ironically, the section of the legislation which was used to obtain the special exemption was originally intended for late openings rather than the 6pm to 11.30pm permission obtained by the publicans.
The publicans had also pointed out that patrons attending the Munster-Leinster match in Thomond Park would be able to drink on Good Friday thanks to the terms of the drinks licence the stadium has secured for the day.
While Judge O’Donnell and legal experts say the case does not constitute a precedent, the publicans and their lawyers certainly think it does.
Solicitor Gearóid McGann, who took the case by Limerick publicans, said he believed it will pave the way for similar legal bids.
“The possibility is open now. Once you do it once it can happen again ... It’s a groundbreaking decision and I think it’s one that will be repeated now, there will be further applications. Once the doors are open it will happen again.”
It seems likely that there will be further challenges to pub closures on Good Friday and perhaps even Christmas Day in the years to come.