The ‘shameful’ party on the streets of Killarney condemned by the mayor



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The mayor of Killarney has condemned the “shameful behavior” of people who partied on Main Street in the city on Saturday night, in apparent violation of Covid-19 guidelines.

Video images on social media show a group of people singing and drinking in the street without observing social distancing or wearing masks.

Two men also climbed into an old phone booth, which has been repurposed to hold a defibrillator, and began to sing, the video shows.

A man was taking off his clothes while standing on top of the box, according to images, as the crowd cheered.

Killarney Mayor Independent Cllr Brendan Cronin told The Irish Times the behavior of those who were partying as “reprehensible” and said “a public apology is required” from 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 city and county by putting restrictions before personal preferences,” said Cllr Cronin.

“Business owners and staff have gone above and beyond to protect Killarney’s customers and visitors. These efforts should be recognized, not hampered by this behavior. “

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

“At a time when we cannot go to see a football game, in which weddings are postponed and other family occasions are postponed, the behavior seen last night in our town was nothing less than showing two fingers to everyone. they have put in a lot of time and effort to make Killarney safe, ”he added.

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

“Those who decided to use the defibrillator box as their ‘stage’ last night need to publicly apologize for this lack of respect,” he said. “I call on An Garda Síochána to redouble its efforts to ensure that a similar large gathering like this does not happen again.”

Cllr Michael Gleeson of the South Kerry Independent Alliance also “condemned without reservation” what happened.

“They are not the kind of people we want on the streets of Killarney. Our goal is to achieve the highest standards of safety and personal well-being. Such behavior endangers the lives of other people ”.

The Vintners Federation of Ireland (VFI) reiterated its request for legal sanctions for any pub that violates Covid-19 guidelines.

A statement from the group said that while “it was not clear” where the crowd came from prior to the video, the VFI “supports the introduction of new legislation that will give Gardaí the powers to shut down companies that break the law.” guidelines ”.

A Gardaí spokesman said he is aware of the video, but does not comment on an audio or video excerpt, as “the timeline and context of which cannot be determined.”

Generally speaking, the spokesperson said officers were on patrol in the Killarney district on Saturday night, and that “with the local Gardaí they reported a large number of people socializing in Killarney during the night.”

“A Garda Síochána in Killarney participated in the ongoing investigation of a fatal traffic collision and responded to a number of additional incidents, including the serious investigation into the unexplained death of a man,” the spokesman said.

He said that social distancing and other similar public health guidelines are not criminal provisions under the Health Act of 1947.

“An Garda Síochána continues to respond to meeting reports and interact with communities with a view to implementing the guidelines issued by the government and HSE to minimize the impact of Covid-19 on our community as a whole,” he said.

On the other hand, the Government announced last week an increase in the powers of the gardaí to take drastic measures against pubs and restaurants that violate the country’s Covid-19 regulations.

Under current regulations, pubs can only serve alcohol to customers who also order a “substantial meal” of at least € 9, and guests can only stay 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 that violate social distancing regulations refuse to close for one day.

Closure orders can be issued by a district court resulting in the closure of a pub for up to 30 days.

Last week, plans to reopen so-called “wet bars”, which serve only alcohol and no food, were again postponed due to the growing number of cases.

Tánaiste Leo Varadkar announced a 16 million euro support package for pubs, bars and clubs that are enduring a long wait to lift the shutters, which publicans have said is insufficient.

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