A hotel in Castlebar which refused to serve a female Traveller and her two family members was found guilty of discrimination by the Equality Authority.
The judgement of the tribunal which was published during the week said the Travellers Friend Hotel in Castlebar had failed to rebut an allegation that one of its barmen refused to serve Ms Ellen Maughan, her mother and sister-in-law on June 1 2003. The barman did not give any reason for the refusal. Ms Maughan claimed that she was upset and embarrassed by the incident and had not returned to the hotel since.
Three staff members of the hotel, including the General Manager Mr Des Hynes were present at the hearing. Mr Hynes told the tribunal that the hotel did not operate a policy of discrimination against Travellers.
As the hotel could not establish who had refused the service nor offer an explanation as to what happened they were ordered to pay Ellen Maughan €800 “for the hurt and humiliation suffered”.
