Judge's 'Stardust' warning over planned Christmas rave at village pub

A publican was branded “a disgrace” and warned an event at his premises could have been ‘Stardust number two’.  

At one point during a dance licence application at Portlaoise District Court, Judge Andrew Cody played loud rave music in the body of the court to illustrate what he said the publican wished to subject the village of Durrow to on St Stephen’s Day.

Mark Lennon was at Portlaoise District Court seeking a dance licence for Lennon’s Pub in Durrow.

His solicitor Philip Meagher said his client had agreed to limit the licence to the internal area of the public house. 

Mr Meagher accepted there was an ongoing planning issue for the exterior of the premises. “That is going to take months to sort out,” he said.  

“We are willing to withdraw our application in relation to that part, the exterior,”  he said.

Noting the man had given evidence a week earlier in relation to the pub, Judge Cody said certain things of “grave concern” had been brought to his attention.  

He said in recent evidence the publican had claimed there had been no difficulty with his licence in the past nine years. “Judge Staines refused him his licence last year for several breaches of Covid,” said Judge Cody. 

“His evidence was that there was no issue with his licence in the last nine years,” said Judge Cody. Judge Cody said there were 1,000 tickets already sold for “a nine hour rave in Durrow” at the venue. He said the capacity was 250 people. 

Judge Cody said 250 is the limit yet the man was going to put a thousand people into a tent there. “Not on my watch… I am old enough to remember Stardust,” said Judge Cody. 

Solicitor Philip Meagher said the event on St Stephen’s Day had been cancelled. He said the licence refusal was overturned in the Circuit Court. 

Judge Cody said the event had been refused a licence in Kilkenny. “He took on an event where it had been refused in Kilkenny for a nine hour rave,” said Judge Cody.  He said there would have been “thumping music” from 3pm until midnight. 

Mr Meagher said “he is happy to limit the scope of the application today.” 

Judge Cody said Mr Lennon had previously told him that if he opened the doors he could get 1,200 people in there. 

Mr Meagher said his client had been ill informed and he said “this is a huge premises. The interior is huge as well.” Mr Lennon accepted an invitation to give evidence in the witness box. 

Mr Meagher told him that the court had raised a number of specific concerns about the evidence he had provided a week earlier. 

“You told this court you had no difficulties,” said Judge Cody. “I said I had one conviction since 2009,” Mr Lennon replied. “It was a Covid matter,” he added. 

“That wasn’t either frank or honest, was it,’ said Judge Cody.

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“What about this nine hour rave you on St Stephen’s Day you were going to subject the whole village to that,” asked Judge Cody. 

“I never actually gave them the go ahead,” said Mr Lennon.  He claimed he hadn’t been told it was refused in Kilkenny and an agent was advertising the event without his knowledge. 

Judge Cody asked if the agent had told him why it was cancelled in Kilkenny. He said it had been cancelled out of respect for the residents. 

“I never advertised it your honour. I never actually agreed to run it,” said Mr Lennon. 

Judge Cody asked the publican if he had ever seen a licensing map for his premises. 

“I presume that is what I was looking at in 2005,” said Mr Lennon. 

Judge Cody said there is no map as he had looked for it. He asked about “this big tent you have in the back garden?”  Mr Lennon said he hadn’t expected it to be as successful as it was. 

Judge Cody asked Mr Lennon if he thought it was fair to subject the people of Durrow to a nine hour rave on St Stephen’s Day. 

Mr Lennon said he hadn’t agreed to hold the event and he hadn’t advertised it. “I have small children as well your honour, I wouldn’t have subjected them to that,” he said. 

Judge Cody then played loud rave music through the speakers of the courtroom for about a minute. That is what was planned for Durrow for nine hours of the day, he said, explaining that the music was a recording from the previous year’s event in Waterford in November. 

“No one told me nine hours of that, there is no chance,” said Mr Lennon in reply. 

“We have a trad act booked for St Stephen’s night,” Mr Lennon added. 

Mr Meagher asked Mr Lennon if he had a contract with the agent for the event and he said he hadn’t.

Judge Cody said tickets remained on sale for the event a night earlier. He said 1,000 tickets were already sold and it would be “Stardust number two” in a 250 capacity venue. 

 Mr Meagher said his client hadn't given the green light to the agent to run the event in Durrow.

 Judge Cody asked Mr Lennon how in sworn evidence last week he had said he normally has 600 at events but can hold 1,200.  He said the fire officer is very clear, “you are limited to 250.”

Mr Meagher said the pub had been run by the family for decades and he was taking measures to mitigate the issues. 

“Your mother, god rest her, wasn't running nine hour raves,” Judge Cody pointed out. 

A Solicitor for the residents said his clients didn't want to put Mr Lennon out of business but they objected to any outdoor events. 

Mr Meagher said his client doesn't want to sour relations with the community. He said an English noise mitigation team have been employed and will visit in January. He is meeting with the fire officer and had been “somewhat flippant previously,” said Mr Meagher. 

“He would be on a very tight leash if this court was willing to give him a limited dance licence,” Mr Meagher suggested. 

Judge Cody said he took the view that Mr Lennon is “wholly unsuitable to hold a licence.” 

“A plastic tent is a death trap for patrons going into it for discos or raves,” he added. 

Judge Cody said such events were “wholly unsuitable in the middle of a village” as he refused to grant the licence. 

“You are a disgrace Mr Lennon to run a place like this,” he said. Again describing it as “death trap”, he said, “you could have burnt everybody there.”   

Judge Cody told Mr Lennon: “You have a lot of learning to do.”