Hospitality is central to the idea and experience of Ireland.  That is equally true for those who live in Ireland and those who visit Ireland. 

The hospitality sector facilitates recreation, socialising, celebrations, commemorations, business gatherings and provides a welcoming meeting place for our everyday activities.  Moreover, it is a significant contributor to the Irish economy employing almost 210,000 people and contributing €2.9 billion to the national wage bill. 

One cannot underestimate the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on some businesses within the sector. That said, businesses have been creative and innovative in responding to the recent challenges.  We have confidence in the resilience of this sector and believe that the forthcoming Sale of Alcohol Bill – which aims to reform, streamline and modernise our licensing laws – will assist businesses in these continuing challenging times.

We have extensive experience advising on licensing law in Ireland and have a 100% success rate in applications for liquor licenses before the District and Circuit Courts in Ireland.

Some of the applications we make on behalf of our clients in this sector include applications for new publican’s on and off-licenses; restaurant certificates and special restaurant licenses; public dance licenses; wholesale beer, spirit and wine dealer’s licenses; applications for declaratory orders and certificates to receive pub licenses; transferring licenses; and dealing with renewals of licenses at the annual licensing sessions of the District Court.

We act for a range of clients including owners, operators and developers of hotels, restaurants, pubs, breweries, specialist food halls, supermarkets, and golf and other sports clubs.  

Our clients are both long-established operators and new entrants to the market and are a combination of domestic and international operators.

Owners and operators of licensed premises have a significant and increasing number of legal obligations in relation to how they conduct their business, manage their employees and safeguard customers who visit their premises.  Ensuring compliance with relevant regulations and guidance for the sector is essential for the maintenance and renewal of liquor licenses.

Our specialist team consists of a cross-departmental group of partners and associate solicitors with the expertise and commercial experience to provide a comprehensive range of support and legal services: from company formation, identifying planning requirements, agreeing the terms of a lease to submitting applications to the Revenue Commissioners and making applications before the District and Circuit Courts for liquor licenses to permit trading.

We adopt a pragmatic and proactive approach and are here to assist our clients at every stage to ensure a successful and effective completion of their transaction or project.

Experience

• Company formation for national and international clients
• Acquiring, selling or restructuring a business
• Constructing new premises / extending or altering existing premises
• Acquiring a commercial freehold or leasehold interest
• Applications for Liquor Licenses to the Revenue Commissioners
• Applications for Liquor Licenses to the District and Circuit Court
• Franchise and supplier agreements
• Management and operator agreements
• Data protection and intellectual property (IP) issues
• Branding and trade marks
• Customer and supplier disputes
• Employment law and disputes
• Corporate and insolvency issues