A judge yesterday, was forced to hear court cases under the disco-lights of the local pub after a desperate search for a new venue finally came to an end.
O’Donovan’s Bar and Restaurant in Co. Clare was the literally housing the bar yesterday as it acted as a temporary courthouse.
People who had to attend court on that day found themselves being grilled under the disco lights after the Courts Service’s desperate search for a new venue for Killaloe court saw them making a deal with a local publican.
Michael O’Donovan had to turn off the disco lights and pull down the shutter as Judge Aeneas McCarthy dished out his judgments to people accused of late night boozy antics and alleged drink driving. Oh the irony.
However, it is a pub, so Guinness, Heineken and Carlsberg taps were still on show, as were bottles of vodka and gin according to the Irish Independent.
Judge McCarthy looked down on Gardaí, solicitors and the accused from a raised platform normally reserved for the DJ.
The move to O’Donovan’s pub ends a 64-mile round trip to Ennis that court users had been forced to take since September after the original location, the Kincora Hotel, went into receivership.
Speaking to the Irish Independent, Solicitor Chris Lynch said that having the court in a room where there is a bar “doesn’t make any difference”.
“The venue is fine. It is functional. I have sat in courts in a lot worse places. This is warm and clean and has capacity to fit the crowd.”
