A group of Irish travellers went on an alternative pub crawl – targeting six different bars in the same area of suburban London, arguing with bar staff in each and then suing them all for thousands of pounds as victims of ‘racism’.
The incident is one of several which have been described as ‘the biggest threat to the hospitality industry since Covid’.
A Daily Mail investigation revealed a tidal wave of recent legal claims have been filed by groups of Travellers who allege they have been refused service by a pub, bar, or restaurant on the grounds of racism.
At least 200 pubs have now been sued by a handful of Traveller families, with one group, the Mongans, featuring 122 times.
Its most prolific claimant, Brian Mongan, was behind 44 claims while members of the McDonagh family featured 25 times, we revealed.
And indeed it was members of both families that were involved in the extraordinary pub crawl which took place on a Monday afternoon in October 2023.
Two sets of brothers, Paddy McDonagh, Tom McDonagh, Brian Mongan and Peter Mongan, went from one bar to another throughout Croydon asking staff if they served Irish Travellers.
First, they visited the Jolly Farmers, a lively pub in the far south of Croydon, where the four young men were refused service.
A wave of legal claims have been filed by groups of Travellers who allege they have been refused service by a pub, bar, or restaurant on the grounds of racism. Now, publicans affected told MailOnline how they felt they had been deliberately and cynically targeted
At least 200 pubs have now been sued by a handful of Traveller families
Next, they went to the Purley Arms, and again did not get a drink.
Over the next few hours, the four young men went into up to two dozen licenced premises – including the Surrey Cricketers, the Crown and Sceptre and the Old Bull – and did not get served.
The McDonaghs also returned to Croydon a month later and popped into the back-street Wandle Arms and again asked if the pub served Irish Travellers.
The conversations between the Irish Travellers and the bar staff – and the refusals to serve them – were secretly recorded on mobile phones and form the basis of legal letters sent to the landlords and owners of pubs in Croydon several months later.
With the cases now being considered at the HIgh Court, six publicans affected told MailOnline how they felt they had been deliberately and cynically targeted as ‘compensation cows’.
At stake is the Common Law right of a landlord to refuse service on one side, and the 2010 Equality Act which outlaws discrimination on the grounds of nine protected characteristics including race, on the other.
But for the pub landlords involved, it could not be more serious.
As the licencee of the Surrey Cricketers in West Street, Croydon, Trevor Weller, put it; ‘If I lose this case my life as I know it will be over. It’s as simple as that.
Gary Sidwell, landlord of the Purley Arms
Oliver O’Flaherty 60, owner of the Wandle Arms
The cases relate to a pub crawl in October 2023 in which two sets of brothers went from one bar to another throughout Croydon asking staff if they served Irish Travellers
John McFarlane,62, The Bulls Head. Letters sent by law firm Howe and Co claim that the clients, as Irish Travellers and members of a recognised ethnic group, have been the victims of ‘direct race discrimination’
‘I have sunk everything I have into this pub and even if I win the court case, we will still be thousands of pounds in debt, covering our legal fees.
‘I’ve had this pub for 18 years. I used to be a heating engineer and was a regular at the pub. And when it came up for sale we bought it and put our names above the door.
‘It’s all about being a part of the community.
‘When someone comes in, they say hello to ten people before they even get to the bar. That’s what a local pub is all about.’
His wife Lynn added: ‘We are here to help people celebrate their triumphs and we are a shoulder to cry on in their moments of despair. Agony aunts.’
John McFarlane, the rough diamond landlord of the Bulls Head, less than five-minutes-walk away, is less dramatic.
‘If I lose, I’ll sell up and the pub will be turned into flats.
‘Half of the pubs in Croydon have already closed down after the smoking ban, Covid and the cost of living crisis.
Many of the pubs and bars decided paying off the Travellers off was the best option
Trevor Weller,63. The Surrey Cricketers. For landlords Weller, John McFarlane, Gary Sidwell, Oliver O’Flaherty and Manish Patel, giving in is not an option
The fate of dozens of other publicans, bar and restaurant owners – will be decided at the Central London County Court
‘This could be the final straw.
‘Soon there will be nowhere to stop off for a pint on the way home, nowhere to watch the match on a Saturday and Sunday afternoon and nowhere to have a quiet drink with a friend.
‘We do hot meals on a Thursday night and a Sunday lunchtime, so I know that my regulars get at least two good meals a week.’
Oliver O’Flaherty, owner of the back-street, dog-friendly Wandle Arms, is more defiant.
‘If I lose, I’m not going to pay,’ the 60-year-old Irishman from Cork says.
‘After paying the bar staff, the heating and the electric, I barely make a profit. I’m not going to give them that.’
Gary Sidwell, landlord of the Purley Arms, is also defiant.
The 63-year-old explained: ‘We have three generations of the same families as regulars. We are part of the community.
‘There is a clear sign behind the bar that says we reserve the right to refuse service and that’s what we do.
‘But they didn’t even ask for a drink.
‘This case against me is all about money.
‘They wanted £3,000 a piece for compensation for hurt feelings. There were four of them so that’s £12,000 from my pub, on top of legal fees, which will push the total cost closer to £20,000.
‘And that’s just one pub. They hit about a dozen pubs on the same day.’
Manish Patel, owner of the Jolly Farmers pub, added: ‘I wasn’t there that day but my colleague, a 60-year-old woman, was on duty. She was scared.
‘The Jolly Farmers is a community pub. There is a sign on the door that says we reserve the right to reserve service without explanation.
Pub Landlord Erhan Sahin, 36, is pictured at The Three Steps Pub in Cowley High Street
Sahin, who has already spent £4,000 on legal fees, is also going to fight this one on principle
‘This looks like a money-making enterprise to me.’
The cases relate to a Monday afternoon pub crawl in October 2023 in which two sets of brothers, Paddy McDonagh, Tom McDonagh, Brian Mongan and Peter Mongan, went from one bar to another throughout Croydon asking staff if they served Irish Travellers.
The letters sent by law firm Howe and Co claim that the clients, as Irish Travellers and members of a recognised ethnic group, have been the victims of ‘direct race discrimination, indirect race discrimination and / or harassment’.
Many of the pubs and bars decided paying off the Travellers off was the best option.
As the landlord of the Crown and Sceptre, who asked not to be named, put it; ‘We paid them off and so that’s the end of it.’
But for landlords Trevor Weller, John McFarlane, Gary Sidwell, Oliver O’Flaherty and Manish Patel, giving in is not an option.
So, their fate – and the fate of dozens of other publicans, bar and restaurant owners – will be decided at the Central London County Court where District Judge Patrick Le Bas will rule on the merits of the racial discrimination claims against them.
As 63-year-old south Londoner landlord Gary Sidwell maintains: ‘Our pubs are the heart of the community. If we give in now, what’s to stop them coming back in six months’ time and trying it on again.
‘We can’t keep paying out. That would be the end of the local boozer. And nobody wants that.’
Charlie Rose, of law firm Howe and Co, which is representing Paddy McDonagh, Tom McDonagh, Brian Mongan and Peter Mongan, did not respond to a request for comment.
