A group of Irish Travellers who were refused service and asked to leave a Co Tyrone restaurant have settled a race discrimination case.
In a case backed by the Equality Commission, the six were awarded £24.000.
They had visited the Ryandale Inn in Moy in May 2023 where they planned to have a meal. When they attempted to order drinks at the bar, they were refused service and asked to leave.
The incident was recorded on a mobile phone and staff were made aware that they were being filmed.
A staff member behind the bar was captured saying, “we can’t serve you”. When then asked if the reason for this was because they were Travellers, the person behind the bar replied “yes”.
Speaking for the group, Martin Cawley said they were humiliated and embarrassed: “It was so blatant, they didn’t care, they didn’t even try to hide that they were discriminating against us because we are Travellers. We felt we had no option but to challenge this, it’s not right and we should not have to accept it.
“We just wanted to have a meal together like any other group of friends.”
Mary Kitson, Senior Legal Officer with the Equality Commission, said this type of behaviour is never acceptable.
“Business owners must ensure that their staff know that it is unlawful to refuse service to someone because of their race,” she said.
“All businesses here must operate within our equality laws. It is important that we continue to challenge this type of racial prejudice.”
As part of the settlement agreement, the Ryandale Inn is working with the Commission to ensure that their policies and procedures are effective and conform with the requirements of the Race Relations Order (NI) 1997.
