Bingo hall closes again after garda raid threat

THE Cork bingo hall raided by gardaí last Tuesday has been forced to close yet again due to the threat of another raid — and may not reopen before November 21.

After spending €750,000 on turning the former Waters Munster Glass premises into the Rock Bingo Centre in Togher, the owners finally managed to open to players on Thursday and Friday last week. Hundreds turned up to play on both nights, but hopes of further games on Saturday night were dashed when the owners, the Barber family, were notified that gardaí intended to carry out another raid.

On numerous occasions over the last few weeks, legal representatives of the gardaí and the Barber family have been before the courts over the 1,000-capacity bingo hall.

As operators of a bingo establishment, the company must work with a beneficiary charity and non-profit organisations that hold current lottery licences.

After what they saw as an attempt by the state to prevent them opening a legitimate and lawful enterprise, the Barber family took a case to a special sitting of the High Court over the last weekend in October and the court found in favour of the promoters.

Then last Tuesday, just 30 minutes before it was due to open, gardaí raided the premises and took away the bingo books, meaning it could not open to players.

Following another sitting of the High Court on Wednesday morning, at which the owners secured a temporary injunction preventing interference in their business by Supt Charles Barry, the garda commissioner and the State until the following Friday, the hall was finally able to open on Thursday.

On Friday, at yet another High Court hearing, the matter was adjourned until November 21.

“Part of our High Court injunction was that the state would have to give us 24 hours’ notice of them seeking an application for a search warrant,” said Dave Barber, one of the owners of Rock Bingo. “Superintendent Barry triggered that mechanism on Friday by giving us notice. There was a special sitting of the District Court to prevent him getting the search warrant and coming in and seizing our equipment which would have meant dismantling the entire hall.

“I gave them an undertaking we wouldn’t open until the High Court case on November 21 because the threat was that if they didn’t get the search warrant they would come back on Sunday, Monday or Tuesday — everyday. They were rendering our business unworkable.”

Mr Barber said they are awaiting legal advice on whether to seek a hearing in the High Court in advance of November 21, but at this stage that seems unlikely.

“It is extremely frustrating when we are a lawful operation,” said Mr Barber. “On November 21, we will ask the High Court to declare us lawful.”