Pensioner fined €50 for running 'Bog Hotel'

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A pensioner, who denies running a shebeen, has been fined €50 for keeping alcohol for sale in a shed at the back of his remote mountain cottage.

'Bog Hotel' proprietor Patsy Brogan, 75, was convicted under the 1924 Intoxicating Liquor Act at Donegal District Court.

He confirmed afterwards he will be appealing the conviction.


Brogan had denied keeping a quantity of alcohol and spirits for sale by retail at the converted shed, dubbed the Bog Hotel, in the Bluestack Mountains near Frosses, Co Donegal on 25 September 2010.

Donegal District Court heard evidence from a garda who had visited the premises incognito six weeks earlier, and consumed approximately five alcoholic drinks.

Garda Paddy Battle, who pretended to be a builder, told the court that he spent under two hours in the premises, which bore all the hallmarks of a bar and chatted with Mr Brogan and another man over the course of the evening.

Brogan's partner, Daria Weiske, was serving drinks behind the bar and Garda Battle had his photograph taken with her.


When he offered to pay for the drink he purchased, he was told by Brogan "'tis alight til you are going".

Before he left he placed a €20 note and a £5 sterling note on the counter and asked Mr Brogan would that cover him.


"He said "that's fine"," he told the court.

On 25 September, 2010 a garda search team arrived at the 'Bog Hotel' under warrant and a quantity of alcohol was seized.

Mr Brogan told one of the team, Sergeant Mick Galvin, that he did not have a licence because the premises was "just a shed".

Paudge Dorrian, solicitor for Mr Brogan, argued that the State had failed to prove that his client had sold or exposed alcohol for sale on the date in question.

Inspector Denis Joyce contended that Garda Battle had "seen retail taking place" six weeks earlier and on the day of the raid, gardaí had discovered alcohol being kept for sale by retail.

Mr Dorrian said his client kept 'a ceili house' in an isolated part of the county.

Judge Kevin Kilrane convicted and fined the accused €50.


Speaking outside afterwards, Mr Brogan said he would be appealing the conviction.

"The moral of the story is this. I have sold no beer to nobody. I have kept no drink for sale. It is not a shebeen. We don't sell drink to anybody.

"Nobody has ever been charged for a drink. If they leave money well and good. If they don't, so be it," he said.

Thrice married Mr Brogan was accompanied for a time in court yesterday by his blonde Polish girlfriend and one time fiancée, Ms Weiske, 31, who works as bar maid and singer in the 'Bog Hotel'.

But Ms Weiske was absent to attend hospital by the time the hearing got under way.

He said that marriage was still on the cards but no date had been fixed.

Last year, Brogan was cleared by the same court of running an illegal bar in his converted shed when Donegal County Council sued him for a breach of planning laws.

Mr Brogan successfully argued that he did not charge for alcoholic drink and Judge Kevin Kilrane accepted evidence that the shed was akin to similar private bars in homes across the country where families shared drinks with friends.

- source http://www.rte.ie/news/2011/1005/broganp.html

And he's gonna appeal
That's the second or third time this man has been in the news, he's getting great publicity and in his senior years, I doubt he gives two sh*tes about any of it. And he might be right

silverharp

he's my hero, good on him.

SomeFool

Braylee Victorious Grass wrote: »

That's the second or third time this man has been in the news, he's getting great publicity and in his senior years, I doubt he gives two sh*tes about any of it. And he might be right

Hero

Seachmall

Fair play.

I knew lads in college who'd drive down from the North every weekend with crates of drink and sell them around the place. I'm talking 100 boxes of wine and unknown amounts of beer and spirits.

They must've made a fortune, eventually got busted though.

Hootanany

go patsy go:D

LittleBook

Ha! I remember him being arrested ... check out his lovely partner Daria

Seachmall

LittleBook wrote: »

Ha! I remember him being arrested ... check out his lovely partner Daria

She only wants him for his vodka.

mikemac

What a legend :cool:

DrumSteve

That garda had five drinks... just to make sure.

lanomist

What a legend, there should be a "bog hotel" in every housing estate in every town and village in Ireland, with a barmaid like Daria behind the counter !! :):)

syklops

Obviously there is no other crime in Donegal for the gardai to be investigating.

...was convicted under the 1924 Intoxicating Liquor Act at Donegal District Court

Time for an update methinks.


The guy is a legend though. Between the shebeen, and the girlfriend. Legend is the word.

TheIrishGrover

This kind of thing is disgraceful! Think of the poor Vintner's Federati.......... Pfffffft, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, :pac::pac::pac::pac: I just couldn't do it. Go on ya mad thing, fair play to ya

drdeadlift

quality , with all the serious stuff going on in Ireland this old lad makes the news ..would love to have a gargle in a place like that

Oranage2

syklops wrote: »

Obviously there is no other crime in Donegal for the gardai to be investigating.


Time for an update methinks.


The guy is a legend though. Between the shebeen, and the girlfriend. Legend is the word.

LOL exactly - 50e fine but how much did the state pay the detective to investigate? we know he was ginen 20e and 5 sterling and the man hours the cop put in is probably in the region of hundreds of euro -

bijapos

Garda Paddy Battle. "Garda Battle" :pac:. 29 year old blonde with 72 year old pensioner running an illegal shebeen.

You couldn't make this stuff up. Feck me but sometimes it's such a great country to live in. :pac::pac::pac:

Chuck Stone

We don't need no goddam feds up on our damn mountain.

Release the racoons boys.

Biggins

drdeadlift wrote: »

quality , with all the serious stuff going on in Ireland this old lad makes the news ..would love to have a gargle in a place like that

There's a few places like that around Duleek!
Away ya go! Just ask a few locals if you can gain their trust! :pac:

retalivity

the place the hotel is in really is the back arse of nowhere too...and there isnt a pub for 5miles or more. Leave him be....people are open to coming in and leavin him bugger all if they want to too.

Quite the desolate view

HalloweenJack

€50??? That's nothing.

In fairness to him, he never demanded payment for the drink. That's entrapment, imo. The Guard put the money down. Nowhere in the evidence highlighted did it say that he asked for the money.

I hope he wins his appeal.

starlit

You fancy going to the 'bog' then? oi oi!?;)

drdeadlift

Biggins wrote: »

There's a few places like that around Duleek!
Away ya go! Just ask a few locals if you can gain their trust! :pac:

Interesting,my sister lives there,,,and there is a christening on Sunday

Biggins

drdeadlift wrote: »

Interesting,my sister lives there,,,and there is a christening on Sunday

Tell her to ask a few of the well known regulars in O'Neills.
They will be 'in the know!'

ItsAWindUp

Have the gards not got anything better to do?

ItsAWindUp

ItsAWindUp wrote: »

Have the gards not got anything better to do?

Someone must have complained, otherwise they'd just go for the crack! :pac:

Oh_Noes

'Bog Hotel' proprietor Patsy Brogan, 75...

was accompanied for a time in court yesterday by his blonde Polish girlfriend...31

Absolute legend.

Run_to_da_hills

DrumSteve wrote: »

That garda had five drinks... just to make sure.

More importantly, did he get behind the wheel afterwords.

Wetai

"Judge Kevin Kilrane convicted and fined the accused €50." - It took 1 year (the warrant was served on September 2010), and he's appealing .. for €50? Is this an error (500,5000) or something?

Cill Dara Abu

I've heard people suggest she might be some type of gold digger, but that's complete rubbish.

Of course she's not...

Where To

Patsy's biopic already in production;

flutered

DrumSteve wrote: »

That garda had five drinks... just to make sure.

if he drove away then he was well over the limit.

charlemont

ItsAWindUp wrote: »

Have the gards not got anything better to do?

Other publicans were probably moaning and winging over it to the super so that cop that was sent there probably enjoyed his 5 pints and I'm sure he wouldn't have grassed up only he had to.

retalivity

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

More importantly, did he get behind the wheel afterwords.

thats a good point. The place is literally in the middle of nowhere. nearest town is frosses or glenties which would be 7-8 miles away. Would be little chance of getting a taxi the whole way out there

Mike 1972

Braylee Victorious Grass wrote: »

A pensioner, who denies running a shebeen, has been fined €50 for keeping alcohol for sale in a shed at the back of his remote mountain cottage.

Sales - (Initial Outlay + Operating Expenses* + €50) = ?

* (See bolded text above)

spectre

Recommend checking out her Facebook pics; she's not hard to find. This Patsy guy is nothing short of a massive legend.

PAULWATSON

DrumSteve wrote: »

That garda had five drinks... just to make sure.

Before tearing off sirens blazin' to get his takeaway.