‘Disgraceful’ partying on Killarney streets condemned by mayor

The mayor of Killarney has condemned the "disgraceful behaviour" of people who partied on Main Street in the town on Saturday night, in apparent contravention of Covid-19 guidelines.

Video footage on social media shows a group of people chanting and drinking on the street without observing social distancing or wearing masks.

Two men also climbed on top of a old phone box - which has been repurposed to hold a defibrillator - and started a singing, the video shows.

One man was removing clothing while standing on top of the box, according to the footage, while the onlooking crowd cheered.

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Mayor of Killarney, the Independent Cllr Brendan Cronin, told The Irish Times, the behaviour of those partying as "reprehensible" and said a "public apology is required" by those who attended.

“As a collective group, we have all done tremendous work to ensure that the number of new cases remains as low as possible in our town and county by putting restrictions before personal preferences,” Cllr Cronin said.

“ Business owners and staff have gone above and beyond to protect customers and visitors to Killarney. There efforts should be recognised, not hampered by this behaviour.”

Cllr Cronin said the actions were disrespectful to all those who have made sacrifices over the past six months due to the pandemic.

“In a time when we cannot go to watch a football match, when weddings are being postponed along with other family occasions being put on hold, the behaviour seen in our town last night was nothing short of showing two fingers to all those who have put in huge time and effort to make Killarney safe,” he added.

Cllr Cronin also apologised to the Killarney first responders voluntary group for the “disrespect” shown to the community defibrillator.

" Those that decided to use the defibrillator box as their 'stage' last night need to publicly apologise for this lack of respect," he said. "I am calling on An Garda Síochána to step up their efforts to ensure that a similar large gathering like this does not happen again."

Cllr Michael Gleeson, from the South Kerry Independent Alliance also "unreservedly condemned" what happened.

“They are not the kind of people we want on the streets of Killarney. We aim for the highest standards of safety and personal wellbeing. Such behaviour puts the lives of other people in jeopardy”.

Paul Sherry, president of the Killarney Chamber of Tourism and Commerce, said “an overwhelming majority” of people in Killarney abide by coronavirus regulations, and it “is disappointing that some people see fit to act irresponsibly with little or no respect for others”.

The Vintners’ Federation of Ireland (VFI) reiterated its call for legal penalties for any pub found in breach of Covid-19 guidelines.

A statement by the group said that while it was “not clear” where the crowd originated from prior to the video, the VFI “supports the introduction of new legislation that will give gardaí the powers to close down businesses found to be in breach of the guidelines”.

A spokesman for the gardaí said it is aware of the video, but does not comment on an extract of audio or video footage, as “the timeline and context of which cannot be determined”.

Speaking generally, the spokesman said officers were on patrol in the Killarney district on Saturday night, with “ with local gardaí reporting a large numbers of persons socialising in Killarney over the evening”.

He said social distancing and other similar Public Health Guidelines are not penal provisions under the Health Act 1947.

“An Garda Síochána continues to respond to reports of gatherings and engage with communities with a view to implementing the guidelines issued by the Government and HSE in order to minimise the impact of Covid-19 on our community as a whole,” he said.

Separately, the Government last week announced increased powers for gardaí to clamp down on pubs and restaurants which flout the country’s Covid-19 regulations.

Under current rules, pubs can only serve alcohol to customers who also order a “substantial meal” of at least €9 , and guests can only remain on the premises for 105 minutes

Fines of up to €2,500 or a maximum of six months in prison will be the sanction if bars infringing social distancing regulations refuse to close for a day.

Closure orders could be issued by a district court resulting in a pub being shut for up to 30 days.

Last week, plans to reopen so-called “wet pubs” - which serve only alcohol and not food - were again deferred due to the rising number of cases.

Tánaiste Leo Varadkar announced a €16 million support package for pubs, bars and nightclubs which are enduring a prolonged wait to raise shutters, which publicans have said is insufficient.