Patsy Brogan to deny shebeen charges

Farmer Patsy Brogan will be denying an accusation that he operated a “shebeen” in a shed called the Bog Hotel attached to his home, Donegal District Court was told today.
Defence solicitor Paudge Dorrian said the 73-year-old man will be “contesting” a charge that he sold beer and spirits at the premises outside Inver, Co. Donegal, last September 25.
The summons was brought on behalf of the Director of Public Prosecutions by Inspector Denis Joyce.
The trial date was fixed for September 7th.
Brogan was cleared by a court last year of running an illegal bar in his converted shed when Donegal County Council sued him for a breach of planning laws. He told that court that he doesn’t charge for drink and the judge found the converted shed was not unlike private bars in homes across the country where families shared drinks with friends.