As I entered Gorey Courthouse on the morning of June 13th, 1997, I was met by Mr Donnchadh Lehane, Solicitor, and Mr Liam Sexton, Court Clerk, and both men were conversing, each with the other.
Upon greeting them, I was informed of an apparent difficulty which Customs and Excise perceived in relation to the annual renewal of the on-licence attaching to Jack White's Inn, in view of the fact that Tom Nevin, a named joint licensee, was now deceased. Notwithstanding his death, his name had not been deleted from the Register of Licensees and he remained named as joint-licensee with his wife, Catherine.
Tom and Catherine Nevin were friends of mine for some three years. In 1986 they had both been confirmed as joint licensees of Jack White's Inn. Annually, and as a matter of routine procedure, Customs and Excise had renewed their licence since that date. Thus, having been furnished with the death certificate of Tom Nevin, the resolution of this apparent problem, in my view, was within the remit of Customs and Excise.
The solution was procedural in nature and, logically, it was open to Customs and Excise to renew the licence in a manner that reflected the reality that one of the licensees was now dead.
I was advised that, not withstanding receipt of the death certificate, Customs and Excise had refused to make the necessary administrative amendment and had requested the court to issue an instruction in this regard. In response to that request, I issued an authorisation to Customs and Excise to amend the licence to reflect that fact that Tom Nevin, now deceased, could no longer be named a joint-licensee.
Some months passed before the matter was brought to my attention once again. It appeared that certain arguments had been advanced to the effect that an adinterim transfer of the licence was required. Since there was no transferor and no transferee, but rather a licensee who had been confirmed in that regard since 1986, I took the view, and remain of the view, that the contention that this matter required a transfer of the licence was wrong both in logic and in law.
Having requested the aforesaid authorisation in June 1997, Customs and Excise proceeded to reject it and sought instead, in September 1997, an Order directing the deletion of the deceased person's name from the licence.
This Order was granted and the licence was renewed. This Order was made in the course of the exercise by me of my judicial functions.
Having refused to deal with what was, clearly, an administrative problem which the acceptance of a death certificate would have resolved, Customs and Excise transferred this apparent difficulty to me, the Licensing Judge for the area.
As a Judge, I was obliged to resolve the question openly, honestly, logically, responsibly and in a manner which, legally, could not be impugned. This I did.
Donnchadh O Buachalla, Judge of the District Court, July 2000.