{"id":581988,"date":"2026-08-03T15:48:10","date_gmt":"2026-08-03T15:48:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/581988\/"},"modified":"2026-08-03T15:48:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T15:48:10","slug":"weve-been-doing-it-since-jesus-was-a-child-outdoor-drinking-crackdown-upsets-skerries-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/581988\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018We\u2019ve been doing it since Jesus was a child\u2019: outdoor drinking crackdown upsets Skerries \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Garda\u00ed<\/a> outnumbered the protesters who gathered on the Skerries<\/a> seafront on Sunday to express their concern at a newly enforced outdoor drinking prohibition by eating ice-cream in the rain.<\/p>\n

But the handful of protesters being watched over by two Garda cars and a community policing van were no indication of the level of disquiet felt across the town about what they say is a sudden shift in policing in Skerries. <\/p>\n

Just over two weeks ago, the seaside town in north county Dublin<\/a> made all the wrong headlines<\/a> when three people were hospitalised after a car was driven into a group several times during a significant public-order incident.<\/p>\n

A large group, including at least two rival factions, had gathered on Harbour Road, where a violent mass fight unfolded for a prolonged period as people socialising outside a nearby pub looked on in horror.<\/p>\n

Those injured played no part in the orchestrated violence and a man was subsequently charged in relation to the incident. <\/p>\n

In the aftermath, locals were vocal in their concern about the length of time it took for garda\u00ed to arrive at the scene and many are now convinced their criticisms have led to a dramatic clampdown on outdoor drinking in the area as a result. <\/p>\n

\"ResidentsResidents in Skerries face a crackdown on public drinking after a public-order incident. Ciara Boylan and Michael Dockerill. Photograph: Conor Pope <\/p>\n

Ciara Boylan is from the town and was at the Storm in a Teacup ice-cream kiosk on Sunday evening to stage a silent and sweet protest. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere has been one incident in 20 years and now we have a ban on drinking alcohol outdoors,\u201d she said. \u201cPeople like to buy a pint or a glass of wine and bring it outside the pub on a sunny day. Now we are being told we can\u2019t do that. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe have fantastic sunsets here and everybody comes out has a drink and enjoys watching the world going by. But the guards are saying no more and everybody\u2019s very upset.\u201d<\/p>\n

[\u00a0What it\u2019s like to live in Skerries: \u2018It\u2019s not perfect but we know we\u2019re lucky\u2019Opens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

Eileen Kelly certainly was upset. \u201cIt\u2019s awful to think that Skerries people can\u2019t just go over to the harbour and have a quiet drink outside if they want to,\u201d she said. \u201cThere was no one at the harbour on Friday night and that would be very unusual. It is just a shame.\u201d <\/p>\n

Pat Grimes was waiting for his pint to settle at the bar in Joe May\u2019s pub on the seafront and he too was upset with the shift. <\/p>\n

The 75-year-old has lived in Skerries all his life and said that, apart from the recent incident, it had been problem-free. <\/p>\n

\"ResidentsResidents in Skerries face a crackdown on public drinking after a public-order incident. Pat Grimes described the move as ‘prohibition Irish-style’ <\/p>\n

\u201cSuddenly they want to stop people taking their pints outside. We have been doing that since Jesus was a child without any problems and now we have this. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt is prohibition Irish-style. We\u2019re used to be sitting out in the sun, elderly people like me, and we\u2019d have a pint and a chat and move on. And now we are being told we can\u2019t do that any more. People like ourselves, we are not causing the problems.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a corner of the pub sat Liz and Eamon O\u2019Sullivan. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very unfair on the business here,\u201d she said. \u201cWe don\u2019t get much of a summer here even in good years and we spend most of the year inside the pub. I don\u2019t think having a drink outside is harming anyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her husband nodded his agreement. \u201cIt is like the reverse of Covid times,\u201d he said. \u201cOnly this time we are being locked inside the pub and being told we can\u2019t go outside.\u201d<\/p>\n

In response to queries from The Irish Times a Garda spokesman noted that Fingal County Council<\/a> bylaws prohibit consumption of alcohol in public places such as parks and beaches.<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cLocal garda\u00ed remain committed to ongoing engagement with those operating licensed premises in Skerries. This includes regular inspections and guidance to ensure full compliance with all relevant liquor licensing legislation. <\/p>\n

\u201cFurthermore, the local garda\u00ed work proactively with local communities and business owners as part of broader policing plans to promote a safe and welcoming environment for all members of the public.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Garda\u00ed outnumbered the protesters who gathered on the Skerries seafront on Sunday to express their concern at a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":581989,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[45,615,12845,61,60,43,128220],"class_list":["post-581988","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-an-garda-siochana","tag-dublin","tag-fingal-county-council","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-news","tag-skerries"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/581988","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=581988"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/581988\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/581989"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=581988"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=581988"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=581988"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}