23 July 1997
By Tom Kelly
A leading tourism organisation has blown the whistle on a Dublin football party which failed to play by the rules during an end of season trip to Mayo.
Tourism Quality Services (Ireland) Limited called 'foul' on a group of >teams from the Athletic Union League in Dublin which failed to play by the rules during a weekend vacation in a leading Mayo hotel.
The Dublin-based tourism organisation have taken up a complaint by an English visitor, Bernadette McHale, 22 Bishop Key Road, Harrow Weald, Middlesex, who had her first ever holiday to Ireland ruined by the antics of the revelling footballers.
Mrs. McHale, who had been accompanied on the trip by her husband, told how 'all hell was let loose' on the first night of her stay in the hotel on June 6th last because of the behaviour of the Dublin footballers.
She explained: "They were kicking and banging doors and roaring and screaming in the corridors. It went on for hours. I never prayed so much in my life.
"I rang the hotel reception at four o'clock in the morning to find out what was going on, and the young man on the switch sounded just as scared as I was.
"The noise was so bad I thought about jumping out the window at one stage, leaving my car behind and flying back to London.
"The staff were very polite to us and the manager apologised to us the following morning. They even arranged for us to move to another hotel as the same 40 or 50 rowdies were already booked in for another night.
"I cannot put in writing all that was going on and what the staff had to put up with. For me personally, it ruined my holiday."
A spokesman for the hotel, who did not wish to be named until a full investigation is carried out into the affair by the Football Association of Ireland, said they never experienced such a situation as occurred on the night in question.
"On the following day, with the expressed intention of throwing these people out, we called together the three leaders of the group.
"The group consisted of three teams from within a district league in Dublin. We outlined the position and, after much discussion, we reluctantly agreed to let them stay the second night as we were faithfully promised that they would be model citizens. By and large, this transpired to be the case."
The hotel spokesman confirmed they had contacted the Football Association of Ireland calling for the banning of these offenders from ever travelling as a club to any hotel again for the next ten years.
The hotel is also seeking compensation from the Dublin teams.
A free seven day holiday voucher with full board have also been given to Mrs. McHale to cover a holiday for herself and two members of her family.
