Barge to serve on Good Friday
Ray Cullen/ Evening Herald
La Peniche, a barge eatery operating from Mespil Road to Charlemont Bridge, will be open for business on Good Friday.
Tuesday March 31 2009
Revellers intent on a Good Friday party will be able to push the boat out on the city's Grand Canal.
While pubs and clubs across the country will be shut for the day on April 10, a floating restaurant has managed to outwit our liquor licensing laws.
La Peniche, a barge eatery on the waterway, has secured a permit to service alcohol on Good Friday, much to the delight of thirsty party-goers.
"Once we are moving we're able to serve drink," Shiful Islam, a manager at the restaurant, told the Herald. "It's like a cruise ship."
BOOMING
Mr Islam said La Peniche has a permit from Donnybrook Garda Station, which they made contact with two years ago for previous Good Friday events.
They have also made contact with Waterways Ireland to ensure everything is in order, he added.
And it's a business that is booming -- at least for a day -- with the restaurant's four sittings already nearly booked out.
"We start from Mespil Road to Charlemont Bridge and it takes about an hour and a half. It's a very slow boat," Mr Islam said. According to the restaurant's motto for the day, "you never miss the water 'til the well has run dry".
A pint of Guinness on board La Peniche is a tasty €5 but Mr Islam pledged the price won't rise on Good Friday.
The holiday sends drinkers on a buying spree in off-licences and supermarkets on Holy Thursday.
Others who can't abide the prospect of a day without alcohol make their way down to the nearest train station bar.
A spokeswoman for Iarnrod Eireann confirmed it is permitted to sell alcohol on-board trains and at train station bars to ticket holders.
After Good Friday in Galway last year, nine restaurants found themselves in court, being prosecuted for breaking the law by serving drinks.
However, Judge Mary Fahy struck out the cases, stating that the prosecutions were "ludicrous" and "ridiculous".
- Cormac Murphy
