Hundreds of Cork students left stranded after Junior Cert disco fiasco

By Greg Murphy

Cork parents have launched complaints against a company which organised a Junior Cert party held in a Cork hotel last night.

The party was held at the Silversprings Hotel in the city where the event got out of hand as many students were refused access to the venue.

Pineapple Entertainment have come under fire this morning after complications involving tickets for the event arose, leaving hundreds of teenagers standing outside the venue.

Parents say that the event was oversold and they were told that they would be recieving a refund for the ticket price or it would be rescheduled.

The party was not organised by the hotel who have released the following statement: "On behalf of the Clayton Silver Springs Hotel, we would like to issue a statement regarding what happened at our venue last night.

"Our venue was privately hired by Adam Courtney and Pineapple Entertainment for the purpose of hosting a Junior Cert Ball."

The hotel said that the ball was to take place between 8pm and 11pm and maximum numbers for the event was agreed at 1,000 students.

They said: "On the night senior management opened the venue earlier than agreed as the ball had been advertised as starting at 7.30pm and continuing until 11.30pm which was not what was agreed.

"1200 students were admitted into the venue, 200 more than was agreed and unfortunately for Fire and Health and Safety reasons it was not possible to admit any more and many students were unable to gain access to the event.

"The Clayton Silversprings had absolutely no involvement in the sale of tickets for this event."

The hotel went on to say that they had ensured that there was one security guard for every 50 students and a further 10 representatives from Pineapple Entertainment as well as two medics present to manage the event.

They said: "Extra management as well as security were drafted in on the night to ensure the event ran safely. The fire department as well as the Gardaí were also contacted by the hotel once we were aware of the excess crowd present.

"The ball was a non-alcoholic event and was strictly patrolled by the hotel team.

"We are very disappointed that so many students on such a special occasion were unable to enjoy their night and as a third party we will be encouraging Adam Courtney and Pineapple Entertainment to refund all those whom did not gain access to the event."

AOS security, who were on the scene, also released a statement saying that ticket forgeries were the cause of last night's chaos.

They said: "On behalf of AOS Security who have been operating within the Silver Springs Hotel for the past 15 years without incident, and from a security perspective the root cause of last night’s issues were (1) forged tickets and (2) conflicting event start times between Facebook and tickets.

"Our operational manning for this event was 1:50 headcount plus two medics to facilitate a capacity of 1200. As event transpired additional staff were drafted in to deal with the additional crowds.

"The reason the Fire Brigade was called was due to the overcrowding within the lift and exceeding the weight capacity of the lift and the directive for those outside the building to be moved away to the grass area was that of the Fire Officer."

They continued by saying that it is important to remember that nobody was injured but the upset and frustration of those refused entry in this "unfortunate series of events" is perfectly understandable.

Phones are hopping this am. There are hundreds of upset parents and teens. Donna says someone was selling fake tickets outside the event

— Neil Prendeville (@NeilRedFM) June 19, 2015

They said: "Once again, we must emphasise that the issue was due to forged tickets and those who were collecting the tickets were employees of Pineapple Entertainment. There was no hologram or ultra violet strip on these tickets which would be normal procedure within a ticketed system.

"When the capacity of 1,165 was reached a security management decision was made to stop any further access into the event. No person was permitted entry without a ticket and there was no re-entry system operating.

"Anyone who is a parent of teenagers will understand the requirement to raise voices to give directions which was required last night to ensure the overall safety of the children while managing traffic and to comply with the Fire Officer directive.

"From an organisational point of view it would be recommended that all Event Promoters should be licensed to a given criteria that encompasses the importance of ticket sales and a valid ticketed system, health and safety, adequate security management provision and the importance of valid information to those operating the event.

"We are very disappointed that so many students were unable to enjoy such an important night and would express the importance of those refused entry last night to be fully re-imbursed by the Promoter."

H/T: RedFM