Senator says pubs should stay closed Good Friday despite rugby fixture

An Independent Senator has stated that pubs should stay closed on Good Friday and that we should respect the age old tradition. 

Senator Ronan Mullen (pictured) made his comments in an interview on Newstalk 106FM this week, which arose out of a decision by the Magners League to schedule the Munster v. Leinster rugby clash on Good Friday instead of the original Saturday date. 

The reason for the move was to give Leinster seven days to prepare for their forthcoming Heineken Cup fixture.  Alcohol cannot be sold in pubs on this date due to a law which goes back to 1927 and which forbids the sale of alcohol in pubs and restaurants on Good Friday and Christmas Day.

Speaking this week Senator Mullen said that we should respect, "the age old tradition, as recreation should not automatically be associated with drink.” 

Senator Mullen, a former communications officer for the Dublin Archdiocese,  said that the tradition of Good Friday represents a very spiritual fact that Christ gave his life for us, and in an era where individualism often takes precedence over caring about others, the tradition of pubs closing on Good Friday should be maintained. 

He added, “we can’t have our cake and eat it in the sense that if we did not want to uphold such a tradition what is stopping us working on Good Friday.” 

He said that the Magners League should look at refixing the date back to Saturday.

However the Mayor of Limerick Cllr Kevin Kiely has suggested that pubs in the city apply for a five hour licence to sell drink on Good Friday if the date of the match is not changed. 

A letter highlighting Limerick City Council's opposition to the match being held on Good Friday was sent to the Leinster branch of the Irish Rugby Federation Union. 

At this weeks Limerick City Council meeting, many councillors voiced their outrage at the new date for the game, as the no-alcohol policy in public houses on this religious date it could spell a massive economic blow for the city. 

The letter expresses "disappointment" that the game has been refixed, and urged that a third date should now be chosen, highlighting that Good Friday is not conducive to holding a major sporting event. 

Failing a revision of these plans, Mayor Kiely claimed that the Vintners Federation could apply for a five-hour blanket licence to sell alcohol in the city, a licence that would issued at the discretion of a judge.

by Sean Ryan