Portmarnock captain says ban on women expresses 'diversity'

The refusal of Portmarnock Golf Club to allow women members was an expression of "diversity", not discrimination, the club captain, Mr Bruce Mitchell, told the Dublin District Court yesterday.

Mr Mitchell said he did not see why, when there were ladies' boutiques, hairdressers and even ladies' rugby teams, Portmarnock should not be allowed to remain a male-members-only golf club.

He was giving evidence on the first day of an action taken by the Equality Authority against the club for discrimination under the Equal Status Act, 2000. If the club is found in breach of the Act, it could lose its certificate of registration for 30 days, which will prevent it from selling alcohol.

Mr Mitchell said he believed "multi-gender" golf clubs must have equality, "in contrast I see no difficulty with single-gender clubs, be they sports clubs, ladies' boutiques, hairdressers or swimming pools".

That the north Co Dublin club provided "a service to one gender" did not make it superior or inferior to clubs accepting women, he said.

"I do not think sameness is equality," he added.

Since the introduction of the Act the club had, on three occasions, discussed allowing female members, but the response had "overwhelmingly" been opposed to any change in the rules. When asked if this decision had anything to do with attitudes to women's place in society, Mr Mitchell replied: "Absolutely not. That's a totally separate issue".

The case has been adjourned until further notice.