Man Charged With Supplying Drink to Boy Under 14

Phillip Galligan was charged with supplying to drink to a boy under 14, and the boy’s mother, Mrs Kate Fay, of River Street, Cavan, was charged with sending a minor for drink. When stopped by the police, carrying a one pint can of stout, the boy claimed he was over 14. The publican, Galligan who sold the drink, also claimed the boy was over the legal age of 14, and claimed ‘it was very hard to be the judge of children’. The boy’s mother told the police that he would be 14 ‘in all but a few weeks’. On inspecting the child’s birth certificate, police discovered he only 13 years and one month. The magistrate dismissed the case against the publican, but fined the mother five shillings.