Court ruling keeps fairer sex off the fairway
Your support helps us to tell the story
As your White House correspondent, I ask the tough questions and seek the answers that matter.
Your support enables me to be in the room, pressing for transparency and accountability. Without your contributions, we wouldn't have the resources to challenge those in power.
Your donation makes it possible for us to keep doing this important work, keeping you informed every step of the way to the November election
Andrew Feinberg
White House Correspondent
A premier Dublin golf club can continue to block women from membership, the Irish Supreme Court has decreed, in a ruling that a dissenting judge argued was discriminatory.
In a split 3-2 judgment, Ireland's top court ruled that Portmarnock Golf Club was not violating Ireland's Equal Status Act, because that 2000 anti-discrimination law permits exceptions for exclusively male or female clubs.
The club, north-east of Dublin, successfully appealed a 2004 Dublin District Court judgment that threatened to withdraw Portmarnock's bar licence if it didn't give women equal access to the clubhouse.
The Equality Authority of Ireland pursued the case on behalf of the National Women's Council of Ireland. It filed a 2002 complaint following similar protests against the men-only membership of the Augusta National Golf Club in the US state of Georgia.
But in their majority judgment, the three Irish Supreme Court judges noted that Ireland's law permits clubs to restrict membership to one sex, if that club's "principal purpose is to cater only for the needs of persons of a particular gender". Those needs included Portmarnock's central purpose of social fraternisation, they ruled.
One of the dissenting judges, Susan Denham, said her colleagues gave too little weight to the reality that golf was no more a "need" for men than for women. An unidentified Portmarnock club member told Irish broadcaster RTE that he didn't want women on the course because they slow down the speed of play. AP
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments