The owners of a proposed new Stringfellows lapdancing club in Dublin were accused yesterday of "stealing" a bar licence from the operators of a dance club which was previously located at the premises.
A solicitor for the directors of the Shooters bar and disco, which used to operate at the Parnell Street site, told Dublin District Court that the Stringfellows licence was not legally acquired.
The allegation was made at a hearing on the Stringfellows application for a public dance licence that would pave the way for the club's opening.
A solicitor for the applicants said they had made a substantial investment in the project. As a result, they were seeking an urgent hearing date, with counsel for Stringfellows estimating that the issue could be disposed of within two hours.
However, Gerard Brady BL, representing objectors to the project, said such a time-frame would not be sufficient, given the number of witnesses due to be called, including expert witnesses from Britain.
He said there was also a difficulty around a "shadow licensee", and this cast doubt on the legality of the acquisition of the bar licence by Stringfellows. Mr Brady said the applicants "only have themselves to blame" for not regularising the situation earlier.
Mary Lyons, solicitor for Shooters, also indicated that the matter would require more than two hours, noting that she planned to call three to four witnesses on the question of the "stolen" licence.
However, Judge John O'Neill said he had been advised by the last judge to consider the application to set the hearing date as soon as possible.
While there would only be two hours available for hearing next Monday, he would leave the matter stand until then as it appeared the issue was urgent from the point of view of both the applicants and the objectors.
Outside the court, Maria Mhic Mheanmain of the North Inner City Concerned Residents Group, said a number of local tenants and homeowners hoped to give evidence on the matter.
"The residents are very concerned, 'fearful' is the word," Ms Mhic Mheanmain said. "We have no difficulty with ordinary nightclubs in the area but this is a sex establishment.
"Peter Stringfellow says it will gentrify the area but that is not our belief. It will drag down the area and bring down the value of property and affect other businesses."
Some Dublin City councillors and Ruhama, an organisation working with women involved in prostitution, are also objecting to the licence. Peter Stringfellow has signalled his intention to travel to Dublin to defend in the courts the reputation of his clubs. The Dublin club is scheduled to open in mid to late January, pending the granting of a licence.
