Claremorris hotel granted dance licence after €45,000 upgrade works

A CLAREMORRIS hotel has been granted a dance licence for its nightclub after €45,000 of improvement works was spent to meet the fire safety standards.

An application by Ketterman Hotel Ltd, which runs the Western Hotel on Dalton Street in Castlebar, for a dance licence was granted by Judge Eoin Garavan at a sitting of Castlebar Circuit Civil Court.

The application was brought after the company was refused a renewal of its annual dance licence in the district court after delays in obtaining a fire safety cert.

Mr Patrick Murphy, counsel for Ketterman Hotel Ltd, explained during the application that his clients had difficulty obtaining the cert as the fire safety consultant he normally engages with had health difficulties.

He added that the new fire safety officer also flagged a number of issues in the premises for it to meet the European standards in terms of fire safety. As a result, Mr Murphy said the company had to spend €45,000 in improvement works to meet these standards.

Mr Murphy said there were no objections from An Garda Siochana and this was the first time that issues have arisen regarding his premises. The location for the dance licence is permitted to allow a maximum of 635 people the court heard.

Judge Garavan granted the application and wished the applicant luck.