Portmarnock Golf Club liquor licence suspended
An exclusive golf club had its licence to sell alcohol suspended today for refusing to accept female members.
The seven-day suspension will start at Portmarnock Golf Club, north Dublin, when current legal proceedings being taken by the club are completed.
Niall Crowley, chief executive of the Equality Authority, said the landmark ruling sent out a clear message that banning women members was unacceptable.
“This is the first time under the Equal Status Act that sanctions have been applied,” he said.
“It gives Portmarnock the opportunity to change its policy and practice regarding women and will hopefully act as a warning that such rules cannot be tolerated.”
Dublin District Court ruled in February that the club was in breach of Ireland’s Equal Status Act by banning female members.
But in the High Court, Portmarnock has claimed the legislation involved runs counter to Ireland’s written constitution.
The Government-appointed Equality Authority initiated action against the club last November, claiming its men-only policy was discriminatory because of the four-year-old Equal Status Act.
The club has maintained that as a private organisation it is entitled to decide its own membership policy.
It also argued the Act did not prohibit its membership policy and only referred to discrimination against people who were already members.
Under current rules, women are allowed play at Portmarnock but cannot hold full membership and are restricted to using the course at specified times.
A Portmarnock spokesman said the club would not comment on the suspension pending the outcome of high court proceedings.
Progressive Democrats TD Fiona O’Malley welcomed the sanction, claiming it proved that men-only clubs were “completely out-of-step with modern Irish society and should be confined to the bunker.”
She said: “I am glad that this seven day suspension has been imposed on Portmarnock, and while it will not take effect until after the completion of legal proceedings, it does send out a strong message that deliberately discriminatory policies are unacceptable, and protection of citizens is afforded by the Equal Status Act.
“Thankfully Portmarnock is one of only a handful of dinosaur-like institutions left in this country. But despite all the bad press and pressure from various women’s groups, it continues to bury its head in the sand and refuse to change its archaic and discriminatory policy.
“It is unacceptable, and the sooner it is forced to reverse its policy the better.”
