Golfgate: New details of Phil Hogan travels within Ireland  revealed

Mr Hogan's 14-day isolation period ended on August 13, having arrived back in Ireland on July 31. File picture. 

Updated 3.50pm: EU Commissioner Phil Hogan stayed in a Limerick hotel and ate at a restaurant in Adare on August 12, one day before the usual 14-day self isolation period would expire.

Multiple sources have confirmed to the Irish Examiner that Mr Hogan stayed in the Dunraven Arms Hotel on the night before he played a round of golf at Adare Manor.

Mr Hogan’s spokesman has confirmed the commissioner played golf on August 13, but did not address specific queries from the Irish Examiner about his presence in Adare the night before.

He was seen dining at the Limerick restaurant in the town on August 12, the same day that he had met with Tánaiste Leo Varadkar in Dublin, a meeting a spokesperson had said was "essential".

On further questioning, the spokesperson said that Mr Hogan had travelled to Adare from Kilkenny but "he did not know on which date".

The usual 14-day isolation period for those travelling into Ireland from a non green zone country ended on August 13.

In a report to the EU Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen which was published this afternoon Mr Hogan revealed, however that after being admitted to hospital for a medical intervention on August 5 he tested negatively for Covid-19.

"As I had received a negative Covid-19 test while in hospital, I was not under any subsequent legal requirement to self-isolate or quarantine."

In his eight public statements on the controversy to date, Mr Hogan made no reference to his game of golf in Adare or his presence in the local hotel the night before. One source said that they had seen Mr Hogan in both the hotel and restaurant, putting further scrutiny on the EU Trade Commissioner's account of his actions to-date.

So far, he has only made known of his trips to Dublin and Kilkenny via Kildare and then to Galway. His presence in Kildare when he was stopped by a Garda for using his phone while driving on August 17 only came to light when the Garda Commissioner Drew Harris informed the government of the incident.

A spokesperson for the hotel declined to comment.

The latest details come after the Irish Examiner revealed that over 80 people attended last Wednesday's Oireachtas Golf Society dinner, casts further doubt on the Commissioner's statements that he had fully complied with Irish rules on self-isolation having returned from Brussels.

Mr Hogan had been isolating at an apartment in the K Club, Co Kildare until August 5, when he went to Dublin for a medical appointment. Upon leaving that appointment, he travelled to Kilkenny to convalesce.

Under Irish guidance, Mr Hogan was entitled to change his isolation address a number of times, but would not have been entitled to leave that address for anything other than essential shopping or brief exercise.

Statements from Mr Hogan's spokesperson thus far have insisted he complied with all Irish guidance on self-isolation.

Mr Hogan's movements around Ireland have come under scrutiny in recent days, as it was revealed that he had visited Kildare a second time during its regional lockdown, this time to collect personal belongings.

Mr Hogan had said he stopped in Kildare en route to the golf dinner in Galway to collect work documents and personal effects. On his way to Galway, he was stopped by gardaí for using his mobile phone while driving.

Yesterday a spokesperson for European Commission President Ursula von der Leyden said that she had asked for more details on a report Mr Hogan had given her.