IRFU probe U20 naked hotel antics allegations

THE IRFU has vowed to take action if allegations a member of Ireland’s Grand Slam winning U20 squad took off his clothes and knocked on a guest’s door in the Athlone Springs Hotel are proven.

An investigation was launched yesterday when a caller to RTÉ’s Liveline show claimed that members of the squad kept her and her husband awake for more than three hours until approximately 5.30am on Saturday morning.

The caller, named Mary, alleged her husband got up to answer a knock on the door, and when he answered, saw a naked man standing outside.

The managing director of the Athlone Springs Hotel, Paul O’Meara, confirmed that there had been numerous complaints from patrons about the behaviour of the team and IRFU spokesperson, Karl Richardson, promised the allegations would be treated seriously.

“The U20s were there and they had won that night,” Richardson confirmed.

“We’re only investigating it at this point in time and I’m not doubting what Mary is saying or any staff but we weren’t made aware of any incidents.

“But if it is the case that any of the guys were involved in something like that, certainly we don’t condone it. Certainly we feel it’s not how Irish teams should be representing themselves and we will certainly take action. We’re looking at it now and we’re making calls to investigate it as deeply as we can. We will certainly take it very seriously.”

The complainant described what her husband encountered when he answered the door.

“They were running up and down, shouting and roaring. There was only one naked that he could see. He didn’t wait to see if there were any more. Two o’clock, three o’clock, they were running riot, banging and shouting up along the corridor.

“I rang reception and they came up. The next morning, my husband went to the reception desk and they said ‘you’re not the only one; everyone is complaining about it’.”

Paul O’Meara revealed that there were no CCTV cameras in the corridors but confirmed that incidents had occurred.

“From what I can gather there were high jinks going on. Certainly Mary and her husband who were away for a quiet weekend shouldn’t have had to endure this sort of thing. We had a night manager on duty and he was up several times. He eventually put manners on them but unfortunately that was after Mary’s incident.

“Running around naked in the corridor was not acceptable. It’s not acceptable for somebody to go away on a short break to relax and to have to endure that sort of behaviour. We’ve had that team staying with us for a couple of years and they’re a lovely bunch of people. Obviously a few of the lads lost the head. When you’ve a group of 30 people, you only need one or two to bring down the tone of the whole event.

“I’m not condoning this incident and I’m sure the IRFU will take it seriously.”