Objections to bar application may jeapordise Derry Christmas market

It’s emerged that a planned Christmas market in Derry’s Guildhall Square may not now go ahead because of objections from five local bar owners.
The application for the market licence includes provision for a bar, but the objectors claim it will affect thei Christmas trade.
The application was adjourned until next Tuesday.
The application for the licence was lodged by Meenan Square Ltd, the proprietors of the Bogside Inn, who want the market to run for three weeks, starting on December 2nd.
Thomas Doherty, representing Meenan Square, said the market was on a similar scale to similar events in Belfast, Galway and Dublin. He said it has the ull support of Derry City Council, and there were no objections from police.
Mr Doherty stressed that ff this application for an occasional licence for the Christmas market fails, then there will be no Christmas market in the city.
He said he believed there was no basis for the objections from the five local bar proprietors.
District Judge, Mr Barney McElholm, said he only became aware of the objections this morning.
He said he was not entirely clear what the legal arguments were, and he wanted to study the law in relation to the application and objections.