The owner of Galway’s adult cinema continued to elude city council officials this week after efforts to serve notice on the mystery businessman proved repeatedly unsuccessful.
District Court Judge Eamon O’Brien granted Galway City Council solicitor Robert Meehan permission a fortnight ago to have the owner of the Galway city cinema, who was named as John Kelleher, brought before the court on July 17. Mr Meehan was seeking to have Mr Kelleher give reasons why he should not be imprisoned for contempt of court after he refused to comply with an order issued last month that directed him to close the cinema. The court order, which was issued on June 4 by Judge Mary Fahy, ordered the Jade Winters sex shop and the adjacent adult cinema to close and remove all signage from its premises after the courts were informed that they were operating without planning permission.
When Mr Kelleher failed to comply with the court order the city council began the proceedings to gain permission to have him brought back before the court for contempt. However, the council was never able to serve notice on Mr Kelleher because they were unable to trace a person by that name within Galway city. As of Friday the Galway City Council had received no update on the whereabouts of the person in question.
The 24-seat cinema, which was first brought to the attention of officials by Mayor Padraig Conneely in May, is located behind the Jade Winters sex shop in the Liosban Industrial Estate on the Tuam Road. As of late the shop and the cinema remain open for business.
