4 Aces Casino Galway
4 aces private members card club no 1 entertainment venue. The 4 Aces provides numerous card games such as Blackjack & Poker along with Roulette, where you can call red or black, it’s your choice! The club offers the highest betting limits in Galway. In a separate but related matter, Midnight Entertainment Ltd., trading as The 4 Aces Casino, with registered offices at 18/19 Dominick Street, . Discover and appreciate South Dakota's Black Hills at the Hampton Inn Deadwood at Four Aces Casino hotel. Take advantage of our wonderful free hot .
A director of a city-based casino was given a six month suspended prison sentence at Galway District Court on Wednesday for flaunting the licencing laws, by operating a shebeen which he tried to justify by claiming that it was a private members club.
Daniel Kenny (45), with an address at La Paradiso, Dominick Street, strongly contested the State’s contention that he had wines, beer, spirits, and cider for sale without a licence at nearby Four Aces Casino on February 28 last, contrary to Section 7 of the Intoxicating Liquor (General) Act 1924.
The father of two claimed that those who paid €30 to gain entry per night to the Dominick Street premises were among the 10,000 members of this private club, and that the venue was therefore not subject to the usual restrictions on serving alcohol.
“The most salubrious clubs in Stephen’s Green don’t charge that amount,” remarked Judge Mary Fahy. And, it was ultimately the lack of proof that such a club even existed that convinced her that the defendant’s actions were indeed unlawful.
The alcohol seized by Gardaí at the shebeen
“What type of club is your client running that he doesn’t have to register or renew his licence every year?” she put to his legal counsel.
“If it were a genuine casino, it would have that type of licence, and not be allowed to have intoxicating liquor on the premises.
“It is outrageous that this man could run a place like this – a shebeen – and expect the court, or any court, to accept that he was running a bone-fide club.”
Gardaí removed three van loads of alcohol following a sting operation carried out between February 28 and into the early hours of March 1 last.
Sgt Brendan Moore told the court that he had been watching the premises for the previous few months, and had spoken to patrons who told him that a fee was charged at the door in exchange for free drink.
He said that suspicion also arose due to the long lines of taxis often seen gathering outside the premises at 7am waiting for patrons to emerge.
He had obtained a search warrant, but did not wish to execute it until he was satisfied that there were breaches inside.
He dispatched two young male undercover Gardaí, Evan McKenna and Bernard McLoughlin. They entered at about 12.30am on March 1. They were asked to produce identification at the door, and then asked to pay €30 each.
Garda McKenna filled in a form, and his colleague signed his name on the back of it, as a guest.
“At no stage did the receptionist mention that we were joining a club, she just said that I should fill out the form to get into the premises,” Garda McKenna said, although he acknowledged that this was clearly marked as an application form for membership.
“We were told we could drink all night until 6am, but that the only rule was that we could only have one bottle or drink at a time.”
Once they had obtained their second drink, they alerted Sgt Moore. He had the assistance of a dozen Gardaí in closing off Upper Dominick Street and entering the premises. There were about 10 patrons inside at the time.
Sgt Moore told the court that the list of alcohol seized took over six handwritten pages – and filled three Garda vans full of beer, wine, brandy, whiskey, and spirits.
He subsequently made enquiries with the District Court office and the Companies Office, but found that there were no registered clubs at that address.
However, a company called Midnight Entertainment Ltd was registered at the same address, and Kenny was listed as a director and secretary.
“It is not a registered club – there is no record of it anywhere… it is merely a device for distributing alcohol,” Sgt Moore said.
Alan Toal, barrister for Kenny, asked if there had been any forensic assessment of the haul, to prove that it was indeed alcohol.
“The pictures speak for themselves,” Sgt Moore replied.
However, Mr Toal disagreed, and said that there was no evidence that the alcohol was sold to the Garda witnesses. He said that the 24-hour membership fee of €30 entitled a person to “free refreshments.”
“It does not constitute a sale,” he claimed.
He referred to case law, and argued that his client was not required to register the club in the usual way. He added that if there was any doubt that the matter should be struck out.
However, Judge Fahy, and the State, disagreed. Other case law was mentioned, which seemed to contradict Mr Toal’s argument.
The Judge then went on to sentence Kenny to six months imprisonment, to which Mr Toal said he was “gobsmacked at the disproportionality of the sentence handed down for a first offence.”
Judge Fahy replied that it was a very serious matter to have had such a large amount of alcohol on the premises, without the proper licence.
Mr Toal, who had earlier been threatened with Contempt of Court, told the Judge that she had not listened to a word he had said during the lengthy hearing. And, he suggested that she was punishing his client due to his actions.
“If there is any sense that you’re punishing my client because of the way I’ve represented him, it makes it even more disproportionate,” he added.
Judge Fahy again told him that it was the scale of the operation that she had considered so serious. However, she agreed to suspend the sentence for two years.
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Revellers will swap high stools for couches, and restaurant dining for kitchen tables when ringing in the New Year – as pubs and restaurants stay closed for the first time in the history of the State on two of their busiest days of the year.
That sense of deflation on the economic front was in contrast to the positive news on the virus itself as the first vaccine was administered this week at UHG – with a timetable released for the roll-out to every nursing home across the county.
Lorna Quinn, Assistant Director of Nursing and peer vaccinator at UHG, who was the first person to receive the Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in Galway, from her colleague Michelle McNamara Nee. Ms Quinn was one of 500 staff at the city hospital who will get their first dose by New Year’s Day.
Meanwhile, the rollout of vaccines to long-term care and nursing homes begins in Galway on January 14 with Corrandulla Residential Nursing Home, Áras Mhic Dara in An Cheathrú Rua and Unit 5&6 of Merlin Park first up on the list.
The last four local homes – Coral Haven in Ballinfoile, Mountbellew, Blake Manor in Ballinderreen and Brampton in Oranmore – are in line for vaccinations on January 29.
But as the first signs of an end to the pandemic emerged on that front, the economic impact of the latest restrictions were hitting home harder than ever.
Hundreds of bars and restaurants right across Galway shuttered at 3pm on Christmas Eve, not knowing when – or if – they will reopen again, as the Government’s third Lockdown kicked in.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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A Galway woman given the gift of a new life by an organ donor is now doing her bit to ensure that others get that same second chance – as she celebrates her first Christmas with her new kidney.
Martina Guyett – originally Martina Quinn from Claregalway but now living in Rochfordbridge in Westmeath – had a different sort of drama during Covid when she was called for her life-changing transplant in the middle of the night.
The mother of two, who is now 51, has been suffering from a hereditary kidney condition, known as PKD (Polycystic Kidney Disease) since she was just thirteen.
But all of that is history now – and she has just celebrated this Christmas at home, with the present of a new lease of life.
4 Aces Casino Galway Atlantic City
Remarkably, Martina is the fourth member of her Galway family to receive an organ transplants due to this hereditary condition, after her mother, brother and uncle; indeed her mother had two kidney transplants during her lifetime.
4 Aces Casino Galway Hotel
“My late mother’s illness did not develop until she approached her fifties, just like me. She had two transplants and passed away at the age of 66 from cancer,” she said.
“My late uncle’s condition also didn’t progress until he was middle aged, and he had one transplant. However, my brother was only 28 when he received a kidney transplant, which thankfully is working still,” she added.
And in an effort to help others achieve the same second chance, Martina is fundraising for the Irish Kidney Association – as well as spreading the word as to just what a different a donation can make.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App
Download the Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App to access to Galway’s best-selling newspaper.
Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite HERE.
Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Organ Donor Cards can be obtained by phoning the Irish Kidney Association on 01 6205306 or Free text the word DONOR to 50050. You can also visit the website www.ika.ie/get-a-donor-card or download a free ‘digital organ donor card’ APP to your phone.
Katelyn Loughnane in the driving seat on her vintage tractor.IT could have been either a belated birthday present or an ‘early Santy’ – but either way for one-year-old Katelyn Loughnane she’s now the proud owner of a vintage tractor.
Katelyn’s dad, Martin Loughnane from Ballydugan in Leitrim parish near Loughrea, ‘threw a tenner’ into a pre-Christmas draw in Northern Ireland for the Make-A-Wish foundation.
Two things caught his eye with the draw – the first one being the ‘good cause’ element of the fundraiser and the second, the fact that a vintage tractor was first prize.
“I put Katelyn’s name down on the ticket and before Christmas I saw a UK number coming up on my phone.
“When I answered, the caller wanted to speak to Katelyn and I replied that this might be difficult given that she was only one-year-old.
“Then he broke the news to me that she was the winner of the vintage tractor – and I couldn’t believe it,” Martin Loughnane told the Connacht Tribune.
By the following Monday (December 21), the impeccably turned out Ford 3000 tractor had arrived at Ballydugan to be inspected by Martin, partner Lisa and of course Katelyn.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App
Download the Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App to access to Galway’s best-selling newspaper.
Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite HERE.
Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
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4 Aces Casino Galway Pub
Michael DuffyIT now looks unlikely that a town centre casino will be open in Castlebar before Christmas. A decision had been due on November 5 in relation to a planning application lodged by Mr Michael Murray of Four Aces Casino, Dominick Street, Galway to open a casino above the Bruce Betting shop on Linenhall Street in the town.
But the Council have now requested further information off the applicant, who now has up to six months to respond to the request. Once the further information is received, the Council then have four weeks to make a decision on the application.
Another casino in the town, the Castle Casino in the McHale Retail Park, continues to operate but the legality of the operation is expected to be aired in full next Thursday week, November 22 in Ballina Circuit Court.
The proprietor of the Castle Casino, Niall Mulholland, has stated that as far as he is concerned his club ‘fully complies with all current legislation governing such forms of gaming in Ireland’. However, Castlebar Town Council have indicated their desire to close down the operation which they believe has no planning history.
Both parties are expected to argue their case in detail before Judge Terence O’Sullivan next week.