BACKGROUND:The Dublin publican hit the headlines after 'banning' the Queen and her family
THE GLASGOW Celtic FC flags were still blowing in the light summer breeze outside the Players Lounge pub yesterday morning as local people going about their business stopped to survey the damage.
Almost every window of the two-storey building was broken and entire panes of smoke-damaged glass littered the pavement. The charred debris told the story of the night before when fire gutted the venue.
Gardaí used crime scene tape to seal off the premises pending a forensic examination. And the lane at the side of the pub leading to the rear entrance had also been blocked off as local women gathered in huddles to swap theories on what might have happened.
The publican’s son, Anthony Stokes (23), is a professional footballer who plays for Glasgow Celtic FC and is an Ireland international.
The Players Lounge is frequented by a large number of Celtic fans and has become a base for the Irish Celtic Supporters’ Club, who in recent years had watched many Celtic games on the dozens of large plasma television screens that had hung on the walls inside the premises.
The pub, which was almost constantly draped in Celtic flags and bunting, also had a large beer garden and a stage for bands.
Yesterday morning was not the first time that locals have stopped outside the Fairview pub and gossiped about the goings-on there the night before.
The establishment and its owner, John Stokes (54), have developed an unfortunate habit of attracting the wrong kind of publicity over the past 12 months.
The most serious incident occurred on the night of Sunday, July 25th, last year when a man armed with two handguns opened fire outside the pub, wounding a security guard and two customers who had stepped outside to have a cigarette. The wounded bouncer, Warren Barrett (31), from Finglas, sustained a gunshot wound to the head.
It is believed that none of the three men wounded on the night, nor the owner John Stokes, was the target of the shooting.
In March the pub was again in the news in the run-up to the royal visit to Dublin in May. Mr Stokes hung a 60ft by 20ft banner on the front of the pub declaring that Queen Elizabeth and members of her family were banned from his pub.
However, Mr Stokes agreed to take it down after gardaí said in court they would object to his late bar licence on public safety grounds if the sign remained.
On May 10th Mr Stokes appeared before the courts to face criminal charges. He was one of a number of people charged under section 17 of the Public Order Act with making a demand with menaces on March 13th that a rival pub close to the Players Lounge cease trading within 24 hours.
However, it is believed the charges may be withdrawn at the next scheduled court appearance.