‘It’s been 10 years’ - Limerick publican warned he must remove illegal smoking 'room'

A PUBLICAN at the centre of a long-running saga has been fined for breaching smoking ban regulations at a premises he operates in Limerick city.

Declan Sheehan was prosecuted before Limerick District Court arising from a HSE inspection at the Rock Bar, Nicholas Street on April 29, 2025.

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Judge Peter White was told environmental officers visited the premises at around 2:45pm and proceeded to carry out an inspection of the designated smoking area.

Prosecuting solicitor Con Barry said the officers entered the pub through the main door and proceeded to the “smoking area” via an internal door which leads from the main bar.

He described the area as being "fully covered" and containing gaming machines and TVs which were mounted on the walls.

Judge White interjected, to ask: “So it was a room?” It was then confirmed that the smoking area had a roof overhead and was "non-compliant" with the regulations.

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The court was told the premises has been subject to "ongoing issues with permits" with Mr Sheehan, who represented himself during the proceedings, explaining that he had "previously tried opening up the walls to let more air in".

Photographs of the room were submitted as evidence and these show the only opening in the wall is a large window.

Warning the defendant that he has to rectify matters, Judge White said: "It's been ten years... You must comply with the law; you can't just choose not to be compliant."

Noting certain undertakings given by Mr Sheehan, Mr Barry requested a six-month adjournment to allow him to rectify matters.

Granting the application Judge White said: "This has been going on for ten years. There has to be compliance or nothing."

He also questioned how the non-compliant smoking area "has not come up as part of a licensing issue," warning that companies that fail to comply with the law "run the risk of losing their license."

Judge White further cautioned Mr Sheehan: "If you do not comply, you won't be running any business."

The court was told that Mr Sheehan was entering a guilty plea in relation to the charge, which carries a maximum fine of €4,000.

The case was adjourned to May 8 for finalisation, to allow further steps to be taken towards compliance. "The choice is quite stark- comply or don't comply," commented Judge White.