Fine and conviction imposed after Leitrim pub was found to have no licence

Fines were imposed on a Leitrim defendant for managing an unlicensed pub in the early hours of St Patrick's Day, at a recent sitting of Carrick-on-Shannon District Court.

Patricia Ellis from Fenagh has been convicted and fined for managing an unlicensed pub after a court found that Quinn’s Bar in Fenagh, Co. Leitrim, had been operating without a valid licence for six years.

Sergeant Damien Guckian told the court sitting that he entered Quinn’s Bar at 12:30 a.m. on March 17, 2023, for a routine licensing inspection. Inside, he found six patrons consuming alcohol, a lit cash register, and two people behind the bar. One of them, Ms Ellis, identified herself as being in charge but was unsure if a licence was in place. She stated she was covering for her daughter and son-in-law, the leaseholders, who were absent that night.

“I asked her if she was in charge, and she said she was,” said Sergeant Guckian. “I asked her to produce the licence, and she said she was uncertain if there was one.”

When asked to produce a valid licence, Ms Ellis failed to do so. Subsequent inquiries with the Revenue Commissioners confirmed the premises had been unlicensed since 2018. Following the inspection, the bar remained closed for over a year before reopening under different ownership.

Ms Ellis insisted she was only at the bar to clean up and close, not to serve alcohol. “I never pulled a pint or served a drink in my life to anybody,” she stated in court. She claimed her son-in-law, Cormac Feehan, was responsible for licensing matters, but he was in hospital at the time.

The defence maintained that Ms Ellis had no financial stake in the business and had merely helped out in a personal capacity. However, the prosecution pointed to inconsistencies in her statements, highlighting that she had initially described herself as being in charge.

The prosecution emphasised that Section 7 of the Licensing Act applies to any person involved in selling alcohol, not just the leaseholder. The judge found that the presence of drinking patrons and a functional bar setup indicated that alcohol was being sold unlawfully.

Judge Sandra Murphy acknowledged Ms Ellis’s difficult position but upheld the legal requirement for compliance. “I feel sorry for Mrs. Ellis,” the judge stated, “but the law is clear.”

She was was convicted and fined €500.