A member of the Travelling community was awarded €5,000 in compensation after alleging that a Cork takeaway owner attempted to strangle her when he told her to leave the premises, reports The Mirror.
The Workplace Relations Commission found that Johnny’s Restaurant and Takeaway on Main Street, Watergrasshill, Co Cork, had violated the Equal Status Act 2000 in its treatment of Margaret McCarthy.
The complainant stated she was denied service, shouted at, and subjected to less favorable treatment by the restaurant due to her Traveller background, reports The Mirror.
Ms McCarthy, who was supported by a representative from the Cork Traveller Visibility Group, testified that she visited the restaurant around 5:30 p.m. on September 17, 2023, following her son’s month’s mind.
She informed the WRC that she had raised a concern with the restaurant’s manager about the temperature of her soup after ordering a meal for herself, her sister, and her grandchildren.
Ms McCarthy said she asked for a cup of tea instead of the soup but agreed to pay for the original order, reports The Mirror.
However, after the manager refused her request, she asked to speak with the restaurant’s owner.
She stated that the owner, Johnny O’Mahony, approached her table and shouted at her to leave.
He also claimed that two of his employees had quit because of her, reports The Mirror.
Ms McCarthy alleged that Mr O’Mahony then attempted to strangle her before the manager intervened and restrained him.
After leaving the restaurant, she claimed the owner followed her outside and made an obscene gesture toward her and her two young grandchildren while they sat in a car with her sister.
The WRC was informed that the incident was reported to An Garda Síochána, reports The Mirror.
Ms McCarthy also described how her attempts to obtain CCTV footage of the incident were unsuccessful, as the restaurant failed to respond.
She told the hearing that the event left her feeling shaken and humiliated, as did her two grandchildren, reports The Mirror.
Ms McCarthy stated that she has since avoided both the restaurant and Watergrasshill, despite it being the nearest village to her home.
Her sister, Nora Faulkner, supported her version of events, adding that Mr O’Mahony had said he was “sick of you lot.”
Ms Faulkner mentioned that she had been a regular customer of the restaurant but now had to go elsewhere due to the owner’s discriminatory behavior toward her sister, reports The Mirror.
No representatives from the restaurant attended the hearing, even after it was adjourned to ensure proper notification.
WRC adjudication officer Úna Glazier-Farmer noted that the restaurant had received registered post regarding a rescheduled hearing in December but still did not attend, reports The Mirror.
Ms Glazier-Farmer stated that Ms McCarthy had successfully demonstrated discrimination based on her uncontested testimony.
The WRC official confirmed that she accepted Ms McCarthy’s Traveller identity and that she was subjected to both verbal and physical mistreatment by Mr O’Mahony at the restaurant.
Ms Glazier-Farmer further concluded that the restaurant’s owner had treated Ms McCarthy unfairly because she is a member of the Traveller community, reports The Mirror.
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