THERE HAS been a furious reaction to footage that surfaced online of a large crowd drinking outside a closed pub in the centre of Dublin.
In a flagrant disregard of Ireland’s strict Level 5 lockdown rules, the revellers can be seen chatting and drinking outside Grogans Castle Lounge on South William Street.
The incident took place this past Saturday evening.
Gardaí have confirmed that they responded to reports of a large gathering in the area.
Though they found no breaches of the regulations in place, several patrols were deployed to monitor the area in the hours that followed.
A video of the large crowd was posted on Twitter by Tara Fay, a wedding planner whose work has been severely impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.
Like many, she was left sickened by what she saw, given the effort she has made to stick to the rules in place.
“Silly me! Who am I to think we are all doing as we should on a normal Sat night in Dublin,” she wrote alongside the footage. “If this is Level 5, we are never getting out of it.”
Silly me!
Who am I to think we are all doing as we should on a normal Sat night in Dublin.
If this is Level 5, we are never getting out of it🥱
For anyone not sure where this is, its South William Street, Dublin 2 this evening. pic.twitter.com/pFkkl6oSCN— Tara Fay (@tarafayevents) November 14, 2020
Her frustration was echoed by many commenting on the clip.
“Thats disgusting to see,” one replied.
“With the numbers going up in the last couple of days again we're not going to be out of this Level 5 in two weeks. As someone working in the tourism business this behavior just makes me sick. We'll never get everything fully open with this carryon!”
“This makes me sick,” another said.
“My Mum was 78 this week, I dropped a present at her door and my two year didn’t get to blow out candles with her Nanny. Didn’t even know take away pints was a thing cause all I do is stay home and go for a walk like you’re supposed to.”
Others attempted to deescalate the situation.
“Since March people have shared videos like this and it hasn't stopped the people who do it from doing it,” one person wrote.
“All it does is encourage the blame game. Most of us are abiding by rules. We are going to get out of it of course.”
However, the owner of Grogans Castle Lounge, the pub that appears in the clip, was less forgiving.
Grogans has been closed for the duration of the Covid-19 pandemic and its owners have been left “furious” at the scenes that unfolded and the mess they left behind.
“8 months closed yesterday,” they wrote on Twitter.
“Deemed unsafe to operate by NPHET and Gov. Is this safer? Clearly nearby properties don't have to follow the rules. Our premises is in a disgraceful state this morning with tons of rubbish and people using it as a toilet. We are furious this morning.”
