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GARDAÍ HAVE RAIDED another suspected shebeen – this time in Offaly.
As part of Operation Navigation, the gardaí today searched a private premises in Edenderry.
The search came on the back of alleged breaches of liquor licencing legislation.
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At the scene, gardaí found a number of people consuming alcohol.
They will be issued with fixed penalty notices for an alleged breach of Regulation 4 of the Health Act, 1947 Regulations – Restriction on the Movement of Persons.
An Garda Síochána
An Garda Síochána
A significant amount of alcohol, including six beer kegs, were seized during the operation.
Investigations remain ongoing, and gardaí said a file will be prepared for the DPP.
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Stop publishing these ridiculous stories as if they are national headline news, a few mates having a few beers in a shed, these are not national headlines and the fact that the journal thinks they are is very worrying about how far this covid thing has corrupted everyone’s minds.
@Hugo Bugo: We’re a nation full of curtain twitchers.
Some secretly delight in the lockdown so they can show just how good and compliant they are and give out about how many people they seen out walking when they went for a walk during the lockdown.
Stories like these just provide them with something else to give out about
@Hugo Bugo: Someone is driving this garbage, and I’d love to know who…. 300 at a funeral, nothing done. Looks like about 6 people having a sneaky pint in a home bar …. Embarrassing carry-on by the authorities, as usual.
@Hugo Bugo: Six kegs!!!! …. A few beers with mates in a shed… Does NOT make!!!! Fair dues to the Gardai, it’s selfishness like this that keeps knocking back the end of lockdown for the majority who are following the rules.
@Jerriko17: Not the lack of quarantine? Not the fact that just about anybodies job can now be deemed essential so they can travel to the office?
Not the stalling of a vaccine program which arguably should not have been stalled?
@Jerriko17: C’mon stop with the drama …. Going by the photos, you couldn’t swing your mickey in that tiny set-up. Six taps = six kegs …. Do you know how a bar works …? Also, going by the CSI photographic evidence, there looks to have been 6 or 7 people there …. Big deal.
@Paul Mcnevin: Well I think this is the journal.ie and not the offaly independent. This story isn’t even worthy of the offaly independent even on a slow news week
@Martin Galvin: @Martin Galvin: @Martin Galvin: Lots of small rural pubs wouldn’t have a setup much bigger than that….. I suppose they’re all from the same family too!!! You’re right, though, not much room to swing anything in there making it even more conducive to spreading the virus!!!!
@Martin Galvin: Between the traveller funeral and now a recent one of their weddings, barely a word or fine given by Gardai, but a drink in a fancy garden shed is where the focus is, again. Not to mention today NPHET saying new variations have slowly increased in the last few week and almost all are related to….travel into our country. Shock horror, a full year on and still the elephant in the room, still our achillies heal, but yeah, shed bars our real problem.
@Colm Byrne: I’m sick of that attitude. Nobody is ‘delighted’ about lockdown. For people who are always on about mental health, the likes of you always belittle those who are worried/anxious about COVID.
@Keith O’Reilly: I’m sick of the attitude that we should all put our lives on hold indefinitely as some are worried.
Not only will we have the strictest and longest lockdown in Europe, that lockdown seems to have more cheerleaders that elsewhere.
We’ll see what kind of a country we’ve left ourselves with when this is all over
@Colm Byrne: Our lives are not “on hold” because some are worried!!!!!!…. They’re on hold because there’s a deadly virus in our midst. More cheerleaders than elsewhere?… Where did you dream that one up? The only thing prolonging the lockdown is those not following the rules.
@Jerriko17: I feel so sorry for you if you genuinely believe that, so the virus can’t be spreading by hundreds of people working together in factories up and down the country, it can’t be spreading in schools or supermarkets, only by a handful of lads having a few beers together in a shed, God love u.
@Hugo Bugo: In case you can’t read!!!!!! This article is about an illegal sheebeen….. Not about schools, supermarkets, workplaces or factories…. all are legal but have the potential to cause spread of covid. That’s why the schools have been closed, people are working from home, restrictions apply in supermarkets. Pubs, restaurants, churches…. ie ENCLOSED spaces where people gather are lethal for the spread of the virus….. Just like this sheebeen. I feel sorry for you if you think breaking the guidelines AND THE LAW is OK!!!!
@Jerriko17: 1 person agrees with you, im sorry but the people have had enough of this. Don’t feel sorry for me at all, I’m very comfortable with my choices and decisions regarding covid 19. I understand some of u would tolerate these draconian laws and stay locked up for another 5 years if this government asked u to but most of us want to get our lives back and as for the “breaking THE LAW”, I’m sorry to disappoint u but these covid laws won’t be around much longer, the people of this country won’t tolerate it, POWER TO THE PEOPLE.
@Colm Byrne: say that to the families of the 4500+ people who have died so far due to this virus! How many needlessly caught it as a result of the narrative being put out by hugo bugo and their like? So yes, manslaughter!
@Joe_X: wow Joe, that’s some rant. Please feel free to list the restrictions I’ve broken personally, a few people who live 100s of kilometres away from me who I don’t know from Adam decide to have a few beers and I’m personally responsible for manslaughter, that’s some reach, not sure that would hold up in court, the 1000s around the country the last few weeks who have decided to start getting on with their lives, again not sure I can claim responsibility for this, I don’t think 5 million people read the journal comments section, we have all witnessed how much busier the roads and streets are, this is just people saying 1 year of being locked up is enough, vaccinate the vunerable, anyone who needs to isolate themselves for health reasons do so and let the rest of us get on with our lives
@Hugo Bugo: I challenge you on your rhetoric and all of a sudden you are a law abiding citizen. I’ve read your comments and you are contantly encouriging people to defy the restrictions, and unfortunately some will follow your lead. That in turn results in people catching the virus. More people have died from this thing since christmas than the 9 months previous to it. And why? Because the government bowed to pressure from your likes calling out for restrictions to be lifted. The thing is when they do, people think it’s all over and done with. But go on…believe what you want. And BTW…. if you want to see a rant….reread your own comments! You must think you are Robin Hood or something!
In normal times I would be applauding the creativity an ingenuity of these. In my dad’s house growing up, he had a little bar just off the sitting room, had the proper setup, cooler unit the works,
I remember the summer of 94′ USA, my dad would invite everyone over, television in the back garden, extension leads running from the house. My brother working the BBQ, The BBQ was built out of a hode podge of random bricks thrown together.
My dad taking pride in serving the pints, everyone enjoying themselves in the garden, neighbours came over, myself and my friends running around the place, we had those inflatable hammers that squeeked when you hit someone, decorated in usa 94 theme if anyone remembers those? Just a lovely Summer, memories to cherish as a kid.
Are shebeens legal even? forgetting covid times, to have a little bar setup in your home with proper pumps and a keg of beer from the local pub?
@Ally Mc Culladgh: So what is your opinion exactly…..? Do you regard it as being worthy of Garda resources targeting these ‘dangerous illegal dens of sin and debauchery’, or is it simply someone having a few friends over in a home bar ….?
@Ally Mc Culladgh: My brother only finished building a bar out his back garden, loads are doing it & 100% legal. I think it becomes illegal if money for drinks changes hands.
@Martin Galvin: I like alot of people Martin is doing my best to adhere to the guidelines, I personally think it’s not appropriate at this time. I’m not outraged, I wouldn’t call it a den of sin and debauchery. Issue the fines and move on, simple. The Gardaí can do more than 1 thing at a time. This was an operation setup back in July of last year, it’s not something new.
@Ally Mc Culladgh:I honestly appreciate you trying to adhere to the guidelines, but when will you, and your ilk, realise that the guidelines are causing more damage than they were designed to prevent. They are too subjective…Your selfish and my selfish are two different things … Your essential and my essential are two different things …. The rules have been a farce from day one, and the youth of this country have lost a year from their childhood / teenage years, people have lost their livelihoods. And before you start quoting death figures etc, this virus will claim who it’s going to claim, and our ‘finger-in-the-dyke’ policies won’t change that, unfortunately.
@Martin Galvin: Me and my ilk, the reason I support the guidelines is because I don’t want the virus to take anyone if it can be helped, I want the vaccine rollout the best possible chance to succeed I remember the chaos in Dec/Jan. Countries all over the world are suffering and hospitals in chaos. We have the vaccine and yes I do believe there will be a tipping point when cases become irrelevant when it doesn’t lead to ICU increases and hospitalisations, until that point I’ll adhere to the guidelines.
@Ally Mc Culladgh: So when Leo, Michael & co. told you that you could ‘stick your hand in the fire’ last December and shuffle into Penney’s, did you do your essential Christmas shopping….?
@Martin Galvin: No. Did my online shopping like alot of people, supported local as best as I could. It was a quiet Christmas, I switched off as much as I could at home.
Somethings will never change remember the 70s_80′s RTE special news reports the Irish police smashing the poitin stills in the west of Ireland. Harmless type crime. Pitiful stuff
Surely the gardai are able to trace where these premises are getting their draught beer. If these suppliers were fined/punished these shebeens would disappear
@Irish Sean: selling the kegs and all the equipment etc isn’t illegal, neither is buying/renting it.
It’s the equivalent of the off-licence being fined because they sold you a bottle of vodka and you had friends over in your house for a party.
Gathering in numbers is prohibited and money changing hands without a licence is illegal.
@JustBEERbarry:
If the supply was cut off by gardai punishing suppliers for selling kegs to places that are unlicensed and making illegal money these shebeens wouldn’t last long.
@Irish Sean: so where does it stop? Who’s to say if a keg sold is going to be consumed by 1 person or 100.
It is not the responsibility of the supplier to police this, it’s not the job of the gardai to police suppliers. Its the responsibility of the keg buyer to ensure they aren’t up to divilment – or at least don’t get caught.
It’s like the gardai calling into car show rooms and telling them to stop selling cars because people crash them.
@JustBEERbarry:
There’s a big difference between a home bar and this kind of set up. You’d have a good idea of what was going on by the amount of kegs and how often they’re buying them. Suppliers in these cases are more than likely pubs so they can’t pretend that they don’t know what’s happening.
@Irish Sean: why can’t you legitimately buy (let’s say) 3 kegs of a beer at a time? Or 10 kegs? What’s the indication that you might break the law after buying them?
Should the supermarket stop you buying 5 cases of cheap bottles of Heineken too? Wheres the line? What’s the indication something is going on? I’ve worked in an offy where it wouldn’t be unusual to get customers buying a few cases of wine at a time – is that OK? What about a case of TK red lemonade potentially for mixers? Should that be investigated?
@JustBEERbarry: Out of curiosity, how is one reimbursed for all the alcohol? Donations to a charity box? Do folks bring their alcohol and leave it there?
There’s at least 4 pubs open in my town of around 5000 people the dogs on the street know about it… Gardaí couldn’t care less… The most inept police force in the planet.
@Larry Williams: A gathering in any small enclosed space, sheebeen, house, office, church, gym etc, has the potential for an outbreak that can spread the virus….. That’s why they’re banned!!!!! Plus….apart from Covid, it’s illegal to operate a “sheebeen” without a licence.
The Gardai have spent a lot of this lockdown chasing people for enjoying a drink and a toke. I appreciate they’re just doing their job but it seems like such a waste of time and resources when there are far more serious crimes to go after.
A sheebeen was in operation in the town I’m from over Xmas. It led to a big wave in the town and people died as a result. The organizers have really felt the chill from locals once people began to get really sick. Those deaths are on them. Fools
@Aidan Dorney: Thanks Aidan, as I said to you before, there is a book in every one of us, I look forward to reading your book Aidan. Do you mind if I use your comment in my book a sort of acknowledgment on the first page.
This wouldn’t be possible without the support of Aidan, a true inspiration and guiding light.
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