Rural Pub Fined for After-Hours Trading | Ireland Court News

A rural pub in County Cork, Ireland, has been fined €250 after being found to have served customers beyond its licensed hours, Macroom District Court heard on Saturday, March 21, 2026.

The operating company, El Tercer Lugar Ltd, was prosecuted after a Garda patrol discovered ten people consuming drinks at The Pub in Carriganima on the Macroom-Millstreet road at 1:45 a.m. On August 24, 2025. Garda Trish O’Sullivan told the court that the lights were on inside, and the front door was unlocked when officers entered.

Many of the drinks observed were described as looking “freshly poured,” according to Garda O’Sullivan’s testimony. No alcohol license was visibly displayed on the premises at the time.

Defending the company, Patrick Goold explained that a band had been playing at The Pub that night and were in the process of packing up their equipment when the Garda patrol arrived. He stated that several customers were waiting for transportation home.

Goold acknowledged that his client, representing El Tercer Lugar Ltd, apologized for the breach and conceded that customers should not have been present on the premises after the permitted trading hours. While El Tercer Lugar Ltd has no prior convictions, the company nominee, Matthew Neville, was previously convicted of a licensing breach in 2024.

Judge Joanne Carroll, while acknowledging the challenges of operating a rural pub, noted that the situation “seemed to be an orderly one” and accepted the apology. The company was convicted and given four months to pay the €250 fine.

The incident occurred less than a year after a separate case involving Garda Trish O’Sullivan, where a man, Aidus Jurgutis, attacked three others outside JC Murphy’s Pub in Macroom following a perceived insult to his wife, according to reporting by the Southern Star.