Zero tolerance as pub full of VIPs is raided

November 1997

A Junior Government Minister and two of his Fianna Fáil Oireachtas colleagues had first hand experience of zero tolerance of crime when a Garda raided a pub in which all three were gathered during prohibited hours on Sunday.

Minister Hugh Byrne, Deputy John Browne and Senator Jim Walsh were among a large group of VIPs who were gathered in Asple’s pub at Crescent Quay at mid-day on Sunday, thirty minutes before pub opening time, when a garda patrol car arrived.

Those in the pub also included the Mayor of Wexford Eddie O’Connor, public officials, clergy, and representatives of various organisations in Wexford town.

The incident happened shortly after the annual seamen’s memorial ceremony at Bride Street Church and wreath-laying ceremony at the Barry monument.

Minister Hugh Byrne was heading the list of VIPs who were just about to tuck into the refreshments in Asple’s pub when the patrol car pulled up outside.

Out stepped a determined Garda officer who marched in full uniform through the wide open front door of the premises.

Within minutes, several uniformed young Sea Scouts raced out of the pub, while inside, the law enforcer was having a serious word with the person in charge behind the counter.

The fact that the gathering included the town’s First Citizen, Mayor Eddie O’Connor, and a host of other VIPs, did not deter the officer who had called in the line of duty.

For a time it looked as if the names of the entire gathering would end up in the Garda’s little black book, or at least that everybody would end up on the street outside.

But then the day was saved. Minister Hugh Byrne spoke with the Garda, and following his intervention, the officer left the premises and the VIPs were able to remain in the pub.

However, the Garda did order that the front door of the pub be closed until the official opening time of 12.30 p.m.

The incident is understood to have caused major embarrassment for those present, many of whom were non-drinkers.

It is also likely to be a major embarrassment for the three Fianna Fáil Oireachtas members, given that the party campaigned heavily on a ‘zero tolerance’ of crime platform during the last general election.

In fact, the pub itself is owned by Denis Asple, the unsuccessful Fianna Fáil candidate in the general election who prepared a special document on crime and its causes during the course of the campaign.

Follow-up story a week later:

The story last week about three Fianna Fáil Oireachtas members getting caught in a pub ‘ before’ hours caused more than a few giggles, especially in licensed premises.

The idea of a Minister, a TD, a Senator and a Mayor finding themselves nabbed by the intolerant arm of the law seemed to suggest, somehow, that true justice reigns in the realm of the public house.

An angle that didn’t emerge last week though is that among the group, at least two, Hugh Byrne and John Browne, were drinking tea.

Both are long-standing teetotallers who never let an alcoholic drink touch their lips, whether before, during or after hours.

Deputy Byrne, Junior Minister for the Marine, explained this week that he and other guests attending the seamen’s memorial Mass were invited back to the pub for speeches and refreshments.

Because of the occasion, they all believed everything was above board, and when the garda arrived to the pub, Deputy Byrne said he took it upon himself to outline the situation to him. That was all.

‘I never take a drink myself,’ he said. ‘I’ve been a pioneer all my life.’