A judge has sought written arguments after a tense exchange in the licensing court over technical court stamping and service rules where local residents sought to raise concerns regarding a Wetherspoon pub in the Camden Street area.
The residents told the court they had only turned to the annual licensing court after repeated attempts to engage with the Wetherspoon pub on Camden Street had failed.
They were met with a series of technical hurdles last week, turning what was meant to be a simple mention date into a tense exchange over paperwork and procedure.
Judge Maire Conneely said at the outset that the matters were listed for mention only.
The hearing quickly moved to detailed arguments on stamp duty, service requirements and problems with the Courts Service online filing system, CSOL.
Residents said the licensing court was the only place left to raise concerns. They told the court they had followed staff directions when lodging their notices.
One man was turned away and told to return later for stamping, and another said he tried to manage the paperwork himself after previously having legal representation.
Constance Cassidy SC, acting for JD Wetherspoon, said she did not accept that any of the residents had standing.
She argued that only two notices, those of Peter O’Reilly and Colm Doyle, might be valid. She said the remainder were not stamped at the time of service, were not properly issued, and were not properly served.
She relied on section 7 of the Courts Act 1964 and the District Court Fees Order, arguing that retrospective stamping was not permitted and that unstamped notices could not trigger automatic notification to Revenue.
Residents highlighted problems with CSOL. They said the system allowed unstamped notices to be lodged but blocked statutory service on Revenue unless the stamp was already applied.
One objector said his notice appeared on the system but was not stamped at the time of service, leaving locals caught between conflicting staff instructions and rigid statutory rules.
The court heard that some notices were served on 28 August but not stamped until 15 September. Judge Conneely said the legislation appeared to require stamping at the time of service, though she added that the issue needed proper inquiry and would have to be set out in writing.
Residents said they were reluctantly present. They told the judge they wanted licensed premises to work with the community and had only come to court when engagement failed.
They stressed that they did not wish to waste the court’s time and were simply trying to deal with the process as best they could.
Judge Conneely agreed that all Wetherspoon matters should be listed together. She directed the licensee to set out its jurisdictional objection within two weeks, and residents were given four weeks to reply.
The cases will return on 30 November for mention.
As the hearing ended, residents said the legal wrangling over stamps and service rules felt far removed from the disorderly conduct they say occurs nearby.
Several wondered aloud how a simple effort to be heard had turned into a dispute over paperwork instead of behaviour.
Last year, An Coimisiún Pleanála granted planning permission to JD Wetherspoon to reopen its courtyard at the Camden Street pub if it erected a 13ft high acoustic glass screen despite objections from locals.
The beer garden had been closed since April 2022 in response to noise complaints.