Teen charity ball shuts down amid drunk chaos

A PACKED teenage charity ball had to be shut down amid chaotic scenes as drunk young people who couldn’t get into the event kicked in windows – with some suffering minor injuries.

Gardaí were called to the event at the Kilcoran Lodge Hotel, outside Cahir, Co. Tipperary, when hundreds of people turned up with fake or no tickets. The ball on Friday night was supposed to have a maximum of 320 attendees, but management said up to 600 arrived.

After the doors were closed when the venue had reached capacity, some outside attempted to break in and were kicking doors, with two windows broken in the chaos.

Gardaí were then called to help clear the area and while no arrests were made, it’s understood some teenagers suffered minor injuries.

The charity ball was organised by local teenagers, with tickets sold for €20. However, it’s understood some people printed fake tickets, while others turned up without tickets.

The event was aimed at teenagers, mostly in third year or transition year. Management at the hotel say no bar was open but that some people arrived with alcoholic drinks or having already consumed alcohol.

Hotel general manager Miro Jezovica said yesterday that buses transporting teenagers to the event from places such as Thurles and Mitchelstown had people on board who had been drinking.

He said the deal with organisers was for 320 people although the venue could potentially hold 400.

‘When I said, “stop, no more people”, after 350 people, they started breaking in – with shoes and whatever they had,’ Mr Jezovica added.

‘The guards were called because they needed to help us until the buses came back.’ He said it was about 25 minutes after the doors opened at 8pm that he made the decision to cancel the event.

Six security staff were provided by the hotel on the night, and Mr Jezovica said that ‘it would have been enough for 350 people, not for 600’.

It was about 11.15pm before the last teenager was gone from the hotel, a renowned wedding and function venue. Duplicate tickets taken in on the night have been passed on for investigation to the gardaí, who stayed until about midnight to ensure there was no more trouble.

‘They said we did everything perfectly from our side,’ the hotel manager said. ‘Last year we had a similar event and everything was perfect, but last year the tickets were sold from here.’ There has been considerable controversy locally since the event and its cancellation, with some people seeking refunds.

Mr Jezovica said Kilcoran will not be hosting a similar event in future. ‘I would never take something like this again. It’s not worth it,’ he said.

He said two windows were broken and some curtains damaged, while the gents’ toilets were ‘destroyed’ and there were some broken bottles outside. Many teenagers arrived with ‘small bottles of vodka’, which were confiscated by security staff, while some had ‘alcohol sellotaped on their thighs’, the manager said.

Attempts to get a comment from the gardaí were unsuccessful.

‘They started breaking in’