Superintendent had ‘legal obligation’ to act on bingo hall

A GARDA superintendent who was criticised in the High Court for his opposition to a bingo hall operating in Cork City was defended yesterday when it was claimed he had a legal obligation to act the way he did.

Dermot Gleeson SC, for Rock Bingo, criticised Superintendent Charles Barry at the High Court in Cork on Tuesday.

Tim O’Leary SC, for the defence, said yesterday: “Supt Barry has a statutory obligation to carry out his functions. I have to clear up a number of things in relation to my client. It is denied fundamentally that he engaged in rounding up objectors. It is the reverse, in fact. The reason they are here is because they have become aware of the situation.

“It is denied he has any issue whatever with the existence of lotteries. He was, and is, continually allowing these matters to proceed in the district court in the ordinary way.

“The intonation that this is a rogue member of An Garda Síochána who has this fascination in his head about lotteries is wrong and it is done [impression is created] in an attempt to bring this away from the district court and intended to have an all-encompassing declaration at the High Court.”

Mr Gleeson said the managing director of Omega, James Barber, who was trying to operate Rock Bingo in Togher, Cork, was a highly regarded businessman in the community.

“I want to try to make clear this is not some nefarious or borderline criminal enterprise. It is entirely lawful and carried on by highly respectable people,” said Mr Gleeson.

It is anticipated that the case before Mr Justice Frank Clarke may conclude today, the third day for evidence and legal submissions on the matter.

Mr Justice Clarke noted that it was submitted on behalf of Rock Bingo that if this operation was illegal then so too were the dozen or so other commercially operated bingo halls being run in parts of Dublin and elsewhere.