By Vivienne Clarke
Restaurateur Jay Bourke said he was “appalled, very unhappy and embarrassed” at video footage which emerged online over the weekend which showed serious breaches in social distancing guidelines at his premises.
Mr Bourke said he had been in West Cork when the incident happened on Saturday at the Berlin Bar, in Dublin’s Dame Lane.
He had returned to spend Sunday meeting with the gardaí, his staff at the venue, watching CCTV footage and discussing the event with his security staff.
Speaking on RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland he said that having viewed hours of footage, the 20 second clip on social media did not give the complete picture.
It had been unfortunate that the bar man had jumped on the bar, but otherwise the event was “pretty well controlled.”
Mr Bourke said he was not excusing what had happened, “it was just a mad moment.” He was now trying “to pick up the pieces.”
When asked about the images of people dancing, he said that the guidelines do not mention dancing or “jumping around from table to table.”
Brunch event
The bar man should not have done what he did, he said. “He was not doing what he should. He was naughty. He’s young and he got excited. It was a moment of exuberance.
“This was an aberration rather than a normal occurrence. Young people need to have fun, our job is to provide it.”
Mr Bourke said he regretted putting on the brunch event as he was now caught up in “a maelstrom” and his staff was receiving death threats. It had been a very professionally run event.
The restaurateur said that he did not think sector representatives should decree the fate of his business on the basis of a 20 second clip and he was “a bit annoyed” by their response. “I understand Covid, I’ve had it, it’s not fun, I wouldn’t want anyone to get it.
“I’m extremely unhappy about this, that I’ve been hung out to dry.”
Social media was not judge and jury, he said. Mr Bourke said he was not worried about his licence as he did not think he had broken the law.
