Publican apologises after saying he hopes Covid-19 goes on for another 10 years

Stephen Porzio

“They say that when drink is in, sense is out and boy has this wise old phrase echoed ever so loudly for me over the past few days.”

A Cork publican has apologised after saying he hoped Covid-19 would go on for another 10 years because of the level of financial support he has received from the Government.

Tony Campion, owner of The Silver Key bar and restaurant in Ballinlough, was filmed without his consent making the comments, footage of which was then shared on social media.

In the video, he said: “I hope Covid goes on for another ten years… We’d 64 staff here prior to Covid-19. We’re back with 40 staff.

“So, my payroll is about 18,500 a week. It was about 30,000 – 32,000 a week.

“So everyone gets paid in, we do the accounts… and the Government… they give me €15,000 back every week for the Government subsidy”.

He then said “Covid has to go on” for another 10 years to enable him to buy a place in Barbados.

On Monday afternoon, Campion apologised in a statement on The Silver Key bar and restaurant’s Instagram page.

He said: “They say that when drink is in, sense is out and boy has this wise old phrase echoed ever so loudly for me over the past few days.

“Recently, during a private party at my premises, I insensitively bragged about payments relating to Covid. At the time, I believed this to be a bit of inebriated banter among friends.

“Unbeknown to me, however, was that my bravado was being surreptitiously filmed without my consent and that the video would then be later used online as a vehicle to publicly embarrass, humiliate and in some cases, abuse and threaten me.

“What I said was wrong and I am sorry for it. I have been under a lot of anxiety and stress since the death of my father and mother-in-law – all happening during Covid.

“Letting off steam like this was one of my ways of coping with it, although totally inappropriate.

“I understand that many people have also suffered terribly during the pandemic and I wholeheartedly apologise for any upset caused to anyone by my comments.”