Gardai have expressed their concern and alarm over a video showing two young children with glasses of Guinness in a homemade bar as they launch a full investigation into the incident.
The shocking video, seen by the Irish Mirror, shows a male from the Travelling community boasting about his new homemade bar.
As he opens the door to the bar, the video shows two young pre-teen children - a boy and a girl - sitting on bar stools in front of a table.
Both young children have glasses of Guinness in front of them.
And when the girl asks: “Dad are you drinking now?” he responds with “Are you drinking your one?” before clinking the glasses together.
The boy, who appears to be aged nine or ten, then picks up a full pint of Guinness in front of him and starts to drink it. Within 30 seconds the child has nearly finished the pint.
A female adult is seen sitting to the side of the homemade bar as music by The Wolfe Tones is played in the background.
The male videoing the inside of his bar is heard saying: “I’ve enough of this lockdown. I am taking things into my own hands. Here we have it boys, Mickey’s bar.”
“It's got to be done boys,” he says, as he pans the camera around the bar showing a Mayo flag hanging on the wall. He is then heard saying: “At last, at long last lads.”
A source within the Travelling community expressed their concerns over the video calling it child abuse.
“Is this the society we live in now where it seems normal for young children to be given alcohol? This is child abuse. Gardai need to be involved in this and investigate this,” the source said.
“The young boy appears to have drank most of the pint in less than 60 seconds."
The source also said that when the video was shared around in a Whatsapp group, people commented that the bar must have cost a few bob, fair play to the man who built it but no-one, but not one commented on the fact these children were drinking alcohol.
“Is this the society we live in now? It’s completely messed up,” the source said.
Gardai have expressed their concerns in relation to the content of the video provided to them.
They are now appealing for specific details of the content of the video to help with their investigation into the matter.
In a statement, An Garda Siochana said: “An Garda Siochana would be concerned in relation to the content of the video provided to this office, however, it is difficult to comment on unverified content.
“If any persons can provide specific details of the content of this video, they should contact their local Garda Station in order for An Garda Siochana to investigate the matter.”
Meanwhile, Tusla the Child and Family Agency said it does not comment on individual cases.
However, in a statement, it said: "Anyone with a concern about the safety or welfare of a child should contact the local duty social work office where the child lives.”
