Dublin bar Berlin D2 effectively shut down by District Court judge

Virgin Media News has confirmed that Dublin bar Berlin D2 has been "has effectively been shut down" and that "a District Court judge has ruled against renewing any of the Dame Lane venue's four licenses."

In August of 2020, a video depicting a barman pouring alcohol into people's mouths from countertops went viral online, after an event reportedly hosted by influencer Jess Brennan.

The scenes were said to have taken place during a "boozy brunch", attended by 46 people over two sittings.

Judge Marie Quirke stated today that the venue's conduct was "neglectful, irresponsible and disorderly" and that that "the necessary order to make was to refuse Trillium Leisure Ltd's application to renew all four of its licenses for Berlin D2."

BREAKING: Dublin’s Berlin D2 bar, which breached public health guidelines during a “boozy brunch” event in August last year, has effectively been shut down.

A District Court judge has ruled against renewing any of the Dame Lane venue's four licenses.@VirginMediaNews

— Deborah Naylor (@DebsNaylor) May 26, 2021

On April 21st this year, management of Dublin’s Berlin D2 bar apologised in court for breaking Covid-19 social distancing guidelines during a “boozy brunch” event in 2020.

Gardaí obtained CCTV footage of the event and lodged licence objections at Dublin District Court.

Barrister Dorothy Collins, for the venue, told the court that businessman Jay Bourke was no longer involved in running the bar.

Berlin D2 manager Stephen McCusker said two staff were suspended for a week after the event, and that 46 people attended over two sittings on the day, arriving intermittently.

He added that he was helping in the kitchen, was out of public view and left the bar at 3pm. He accepted there were breaches of social distancing guidelines “absolutely, and I apologise for that.”

Front of house manager John Duggan said he tried to prevent customers leaving designated areas and to usher them back to their tables. He also maintained that he reprimanded the staff member who got onto the bar and started pouring drinks.

“I made mistakes that did not fully reflect my management style, I would do a lot of things differently, and I’m sorry,” he said.

The viral video has since been viewed over 1.2 million times on Twitter alone.