Woman fails in claim against hotel after dancefloor fall

A 76-year-old woman who had been dancing on 3in heels has failed in her personal injury and damages for negligence claim against the Gleneagle Hotel in Killarney for slipping on what she said was dancing powder as she left the ballroom floor in the early hours.

Judge James O’Donohoe said no powder had been seen by herself or found on her clothes in the accident and that what she was engaged in given her age — 71 at the time — “was a hazardous activity in itself”.

The judge this week also awarded costs to the “well-run hotel” saying it was a commercial enterprise “in an age of austerity”.