€1,750 fine for Quinns over dead rat, sewage and used toilet paper in pub

LANDMARK Dublin pub Quinn’s in Drumcondra has been fined €1,750 after health inspectors found a dead rat, raw sewage and soiled toilet paper in their main stockrooms on the day after the 2014 All Ireland Hurling final.

The pub – one of the most popular spots for GAA fans because it of its proximity to Croke Park – is regularly packed on big match days. However, following a damning hygiene inspection, it was ordered to close for 48 hours by Health Service Executive (HSE).

HYGIENE

Its owners, Quinn Hospitality Ireland Operations 2 Ltd, with an address at Church View, Cavan, Co Cavan, pleaded guilty at Dublin District Court to breaking hygiene and foodstuff laws.

Senior environmental health inspector Chris Counihan told Judge John O’Neill that in his 17-years’ professional experience he had not seen anything as bad.

Mr Counihan told prosecution solicitor Adrian Lennon that on September 8 last he went to the pub on the Drumcondra Road, Dublin 9. He said he found “evidence of rat infestation” in two cellars where drinks were stored.

In one cellar, he found a dead rat on the floor and he said no effort had been made to clean it up.

There were also rat droppings on the floor as well as fragments of dried sewage and pieces of soiled tissue on the walls and on a manhole cover.

Mr Counihan said the dried fragments of toilet paper was a result of over-flowed sewage which contained human waste.

In the poorly lit cellar there was evidence of “uncovered drainage” and pipes had no “pest protection” and “raw sewage over-flowed from a manhole”, Mr Counihan said.

The manhole had also allowed rats to enter, the court was told. The floor was in a state of disrepair with gaps that could have also let in pests.

Drinks placed in the basement cellar were at risk of contamination from diseases including E.coli, salmonella and hepatitis, which are spread by human waste, as well as the bacterial infection Leptospirosis which can be carried in rat droppings.

Mr Counihan said there was no pest control and he described the condition of the place as “the worst I’ve seen” in his 17-years’ experience.

In the bar areas, the surfaces were in a “filthy condition”, a sink was filled with tissue paper and cigarette butts and there was mould on fridge doors.