Silver Tassie Company Ltd v Beirne and Others

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Judgment Date: 01 January 1956
• Date: 01 January 1956
• Court: High Court

Silver Tassie, Ltd.

and

O'Beirne and Others

Trade dispute -Whether a dismissal simpliciter can constitute a dispute - Continuing effect of an injunction previously granted - Dispute must be definite and of real substance - Trade Disputes Act, 1906 (6 Edw. 7, c. 47), s. 2, s. 5.

On the 23rd January, 1956, the plaintiff company, the proprietors of a public house and restaurant called the Silver Tassie, brought a summons before the High Court seeking an interlocutory injunction against certain named defendants who were members of the Irish National Union of Vintners Grocers and Allied Traders Assistants. These members were picketing the plaintiff company's premises in furtherance of an alleged trade dispute. The Court found that the union had based their dispute upon alleged acts of victimisation against one of their members, McK., who had been dismissed by P., the managing director of the plaintiff company. No evidence of victimisation had been shown to the Court and, therefore, because the facts upon which the alleged dispute was based were not shown to exist the Court found that there was in fact no trade dispute in existence. Accordingly on the 24th January, 1956, Mr. Justice Budd made an order granting the plaintiff company an interlocutory injunction to restrain the named defendants from picketing their premises. At 11.55 on the night of the 24th January the plaintiffs received a further demand to re-instate McK. when he would call to the premises the next morning. The demand further stated that if P. refused to re-instate him the premises would be picketed in...