14th May 2021

The virtual show kicked off today with the prospect of the easing of restrictions commencing on the 10th of May, with the point being raised by Greg Hughes that while Donegal was under the microscope, gatherings such as weddings were taking place down the country. He was of course referring to the Longford County Council Circuit Court case in respect of a wedding which took place in Longford. Seamus Gunn was of the opinion that in this instance every effort had been made to implement the law. He said that the Gardai when they became aware of the proposed event notified the local authority and public health in Longford and that the County Council then secured an injunction to halt the Proceedings.  He said that the difficulty arose when the Gardai that were deployed on site could not prevent people entering the event as they were entering through a halting site, as this would give rise to Civil Liberty issues. As the event proceeded, those responsible would now have to account for their actions before the Circuit Court as on the face of it they were in contempt of a Court Order. He said that he thought the difficulty with dealing with the case was that while one could be brought before the court for disobeying an injunction, it is usually to purge one’s contempt, thereby enforcing some action on the part of the individual to abide by the direction of the Court or else be incarcerated until they agree to do so. He said that in this instance the event had proceeded in defiance of the Court Order and for this, someone would be held responsible to answer for their actions. He said that GolfGate exercised a lot of minds last August, it was quite likely that this case would do likewise in the coming week. 

The Q & A that followed started with a tricky local authority issue and antisocial behaviour, with land and estate issues also covered.

Listen to the full interview below.

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