Irish Traveller activist tells of 'vile' behaviour experienced as party refused from venue

Tralee Traveller activist and actor Martin Mahon spoke of the “disgusting” incident

An Irish Traveller activist has told of the “appaling” behaviour he experienced during an alleged incident on New Year’s Eve when he and a party of family and friends were reportedly refused from a hotel in Tralee.

In a video seen by the Irish Mirror, Tralee Traveller activist and actor Martin Mahon, alongside his auntie and other members of the Travelling community, attempted to enter a Tralee hotel at around 11:30pm on New Year’s Eve.

The party were reportedly told the venue was only accepting hotel patrons that evening and were asked to move aside, which they obliged before noticing punters who were not patrons of the hotel being allowed into the bar.

Speaking to the Irish Mirror, Martin, who does not drink alcohol, said they began to record the alleged incident as they have “seen so many of these incidents happen” and they were hoping that “it wasn’t another one happening to us.”

“I started seeing them leave all the people in, so many of them, straight after. Not even ‘Where’s his residence card’. I doubt you’d know it off by heart, all the faces.

“So they kept saying to us, ‘Not tonight, not tonight’. We were like, ‘Why? What’s going on? What have we done?’.

“Then he said, ‘They are going to call the manager, the manager wants to come out and talk to you.’

“So we waited there for a good 15 minutes, 20 minutes, at the side as all the people being pushed through they kept saying just wait for a manager, wait for the manager, the manager never showed up.”

The party continued to ask the security why they were not being allowed to enter the premises before rejoining the queue at which point gardaí arrived at the scene to speak to them. After speaking with gardaí, the group then left taking a taxi home.

“It was just disgusting, vile behaviour,” Martin said. “And it really just makes you feel like you’re nothing, you know, it really just sticks on your skin.

“Just when you see work like Martin Warde has been doing and John Connors and Savannah McCarthy and Eileen Flynn, people who are putting the Travellers in a good image and in a good light, and you see how far we’ve come in society.

“Then to see this kind of backward behaviour in 2023 on my own doorstep is really really appalling.”

An Garda Síochána said it does not comment on named premises when contacted by the Irish Mirror but confirmed that gardaí were requested to attend an incident at a licenced premises in Tralee on New Year’s Eve, however, no offences were disclosed.

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