Time has been called on the Good Friday drinking ban with legislation to end the 90-year prohibition passed all stages in the Seanad.
The controversy surrounding the ban is well documented, but it's only one aspect of Ireland's complex liquor laws.
Barrister, Tim Bracken Barrister and Senior Counsel Constance Cassidy, authors of a new book on Irish licensing laws, joined Sean O’Rourke in studio to discuss.
Sean asked whether the average publican has difficulties in understanding the licensing laws as they have been described as being 'clouded in the vapours of mystery'. Tim Bracken explained that some publicans:
'…don't realise some of the laws applicable to them and which they're running under… it's a hugely regulated area.'
There are 75 pieces of legislation relating to licensing laws, some dating back to 1635.
'We had the English trying to regulate how the Irish would drink for years and the Irish always found a way around it.'
He explained some methods used to 'get around' the laws, in particular relating to the Good Friday ban.
'If you were more than 3 miles from where you lived or where you lodged the night before, you were a bona fide traveller and you could get a drink'
The book, available now, is entitled The Annual Licensing Court.
It was a fascinating insight in to a complex legal structure featuring a multitude of stories from Peter Stringfellow to 'Early Houses'. To listen back in full, click here.