Islington Pub bars Irish Travellers

The Irish Times reports that the Coronet pub on Holloway Road turned away drinkers on Thursday simply for being Irish Travellers. Jim Jepps reports.

The Coronet on Holloway Road: accused of racism

The Wetherspoons Pub was the venue of choice for the group who had attended an Irish Travellers’ Movement meeting a few doors away. Even when it was pointed out to the doorman that the group included a priest and a high ranking police officer they were still refused service. He claimed he was under instructions not to allow admittance to any Irish Traveller or their associates.

According to the Irish Times “The group, including Cheshire Constabulary’s head of diversity Insp Mark Watson, solicitor Martin Howe and the group’s chairman, Fr Joe Brown, along with a number of Travellers, were blocked by doormen.”

When the Police Inspector produced his ID he was allowed admittance to speak to the manager. He later stated that “I will be supplying a full statement of what I saw, heard and did, in order to support this action. This matter will also be reported to the Metropolitan Police as a racially motivated incident for assessment and investigation”.

The paper also reports that this was not the only problem on the day as “other people, who had attended an equality conference for gays, bisexuals and transgender people in the Resource Centre on Holloway Road, “were similarly barred” from the Coronet because the doormen thought that they, too, had attended the Travellers’ meeting”.

This incident comes at a time when travellers are facing increased discrimination and the evictions at Dale Farm have heightened tensions. The group intend to take legal action against the chain.