Couple and pub admit ‘mistakes’ in gay kiss row

A GAY couple allegedly ejected from a Cork pub for kissing on the dance floor have met the pub’s owners, with both parties conceding “mistakes” were made by all involved.

A war of words and threats of legal action were last night put to bed when the two warring parties met, and after “deliberations and discussions” resolved the issue and came to an amicable agreement.

The owner of the Old Oak pub apologised for any offence, but stressed that none was intended, as the Old Oak is not and never has been an anti-gay establishment.

Equally, the couple involved, who wished to remain anonymous, accepted they could have handled matters in a better way.

The row began when the popular Cork pub was accused of asking a gay couple to leave the premises after they kissed on its dance floor in the early hours of last Saturday morning.

A doorman at the Old Oak bar on Oliver Plunkett Street asked a student and his boyfriend to leave the bar, having given them a verbal warning following an earlier kiss.

It has also emerged that the two men, one aged 19 and the other a 21-year-old student at Cork Institute of Technology, were on their first date.

Witnesses also claim they had been advised by a doorman to tone down their behaviour and, when found kissing again later, were ordered to leave. Security staff then escorted them from the premises.

The pub’s owner, Ger Kiely said his pub is a “gay-friendly” establishment.

Mr Kiely said his pub had always welcomed gay customers and would continue to do so, and had held events for Cork’s gay community in the past.

“Why would I do anything to upset a large proportion of my customers? We do not differentiate between gay and straight people in the Old Oak. It’s not just about business either,” he said.

“We know how to conduct ourselves properly and we have never, and will never, discriminate.”

Mr Kiely’s comments came in the wake of a bitter online campaign which began in response to the incident, which occurred at about 1.30am on Saturday during a live music session.

Before the sides came to their agreement late last night, the 21-year-old student involved, who has not come out to his family, was understood to have contacted a solicitor about the incident and to have reported the matter to the Equality Authority.

A spokesman for the authority said it was its policy not to comment on any individual case or even acknowledge whether a complaint had been registered with them.