A nightclub owned by a former rugby international, Mr Peter Clohessy, has lost up to €15,000 every week since a court ruled that last orders had to be served by 1.30 a.m., Limerick Circuit Court heard yesterday.
The Munster player was giving evidence in an appeal against a District Court ruling which refused to allow his Limerick city disco, the Sin Bin, to serve alcohol until 2.30 a.m.
Last year a court ordered that Limerick nightclubs stop serving alcohol at 1.30 a.m. The move has been supported by gardaí who say it has resulted in a drop in public order offences and drunkenness.
Yesterday Mr Clohessy told Judge Carroll Moran that his nightclub was losing between €12,000 and €15,000 a week since the new law was implemented.
The court heard that the club employed 65 staff and had 48 CCTV cameras. He said his average weekly turnover was between €98,000 and €100,000 but that it had dropped by almost 15 per cent.
Judge Moran said he was constrained by the Liquor Act to consider each case on its own merits and he had to take into account evidence that the Sin Bin was well run and had no prosecutions against it arising from public order offences.
He granted the appeal allowing the Sin Bin to serve alcohol until 2 a.m. for the requested period, which started last night.