A call has been made to separate religion from the law when it comes to the licensing laws governing Good Friday at a time when it appears more pubs will be open for business today due to their restaurant trade.
Yesterday, Terry Tyson, the chairman of the Vintners Federation of Ireland in Galway City, said it was “about time religion (the Catholic Church) stopped influencing business”.
Mr Tyson, proprietor of the Rockbarton House Hotel in Salthill, said it was high time for everyone to get a bit of sense and change an archaic law that had no place in what he described as “a multicultural society”.
“Publicans have a livelihood selling alcohol and on Good Friday they can’t do that, but this country is in a hole right now and why should religion have anything to do with business? Galway is a multi-cultural society now, so this law has no place in today’s world. The economy is a mess and business has to be done."
Many pubs with restaurant licences are open today – much more than on previous Good Fridays – but the one place in the city where there’s a full bar is at the Galway Greyhound Track as it has a special events licence.
In 2009, Judge Mary Fahy said prosecuting restaurants which offered wine with meals on Good Friday was "ludicrous" in today's world.
During a hearing in Galway District Court, she decided not to record convictions against nine restaurants that had done this.