Lavelle case appealed, but nobody told us

mayo | rights, freedoms and repression | opinion/analysis

Saturday June 21, 2003 19:06

by Joe Collins

Cork

Circuit Court sequel to Westpost Vintners blanket ban against Travellers

The media appears to have ignored the successful circuit court appeal against Chris Lavelle, the Mayo publican who admitted to a district court judge that he had called on other publicans to ban Travellers, even if there was no basis to refuse them service. Even though the judge accused Mr. Lavelle of acting illegally, and of inciting others to do the same, she still renewed his licence. Is there any hope that the mainstream media will rise above the standards of unfairness against Travellers set by the likes of Brendan O’Connor, Mary Ellen Synon and Kevin Myers?

Remember last September, pub owners in Westport called for a blanket ban on serving Travellers? Shortly afterwards one prominent member of the trade, Chris Lavelle, won a challenge against the renewal of his vintner licence. The challenge was taken out by a member of the Mayo Travellers Support Group, Bernadette Comiskey. Lavelle admitted to the district court judge that he had called on other publicans to ban Travellers, even if there was no basis to refuse them service. The judge accused Mr. Lavelle of acting illegally, and of inciting others to do the same. So she raised eyebrows at the time by renewing the licence. The VFI had a field day, as the self-righteous publicans celebrated and gloated over the result, and the usual reactionary elements within the media lapped it up.
That was September 2002. In March 2003, the case was appealed to the circuit court, and Chris Lavelle settled on the steps of the court house, promising to the court in a prepared statement never to say or do anything like that again. Did anybody notice a line about it in the media? I certainly did not.
Is there any hope that the mainstream media will rise above the standards of unfairness against Travellers set by the likes of Brendan O’Connor, Mary Ellen Synon and Kevin Myers?