A €1,500 fine and a two-day closure order has been imposed on the pub company owned by former Tipperary hurler Lar Corbett for a conviction under Revenue legislation.
The conviction was imposed at Thurles district court in relation to 23 bottles of "counterfeit" vodka seized at Corbett's bar, Coppinger's in Thurles.
Judge Elizabeth McGrath said Lar Corbett, who was hurler of the year in 2010 and has two All-Ireland senior medals, was an "honest and fair witness" but said there was a "lack of a proper stocktaking process" at the pub.
Mr Corbett, the nominee of his company Marlstone Investments, denied breaching Revenue legislation by having 16.1 litres of spirits for sale at his pub in Thurles, Co Tipperary, without having paid the appropriate rate of tax.
The offence was detected by Revenue officials following a visit to his Coppinger's Bar on Parnell Street in Thurles on 29 January 2015.
Lar Corbett took the witness stand in court today and was presented with one of the "counterfeit" bottles seized during the inspection, and a genuine bottle of Smirnoff vodka. He said he could not tell them apart.
He named a wholesaler and an off-licence where he bought all the vodka for his pub at the time and said he had since changed suppliers.
He had receipts covering the period of time in question and told the Revenue officials to call him if they had any further questions because he wanted to get the matter "sorted".
Under cross-examination, he accepted that the "buck stops" with him in relation to the premises and its stock but said he thought he did take "reasonable care" to ensure there were no counterfeit goods in the pub.
In relation to stock-taking, he said that they would buy enough stock to ensure that the two bars, and a "cabin", in the premises did not run out of anything.
It would depend on how busy they expected to be over a given weekend or period, and he would make a judgement call on how much to order. Receipts for bought stock would then be given to the accountant.
He did not have "a recording system" at that time for keeping track of stock orders, he said.
Judge McGrath said the licensing laws expect a "high standard of care" from the licensee on how they run their premises.
"That standard of care, in my opinion, also applies to the issue of supply of alcohol to be dispensed within a licensed premises. The standard of care does require, in relation to that, an appropriate process of stock-taking."
She found Lar Corbett to be "an honest and fair witness" and a "genuine witness," the judge said, but the reason the company found itself before the court was "very well-related to the lack of a proper stock-taking process within the premises".
The defence of "due diligence" had not been established and she had to convict, she said.
The maximum fine under the legislation is €5,000 and the penalty also includes a mandatory closure order for between two and seven days.
She fined Marlstone Investments €1,500 and imposed a two-day closure order. There were no previous convictions.
Lar Corbett declined to make any comment as he left the courthouse.
