DUBLIN City Council knew their decision to cancel a Repeal book event would cause a public furore but felt they had no choice but to pull the plug on it.
Records released following an FOI request show how the council believed they would be breaking the law because they were directly funding the event.
Concerns were first raised on April 17 when the council press office suggested “there may be questions” about a publicly funded event having “one side of a referendum argument”.
They said they were would need to check with the office of Chief Executive Owen Keegan on whether they could be associated with it.
An email sent later that evening said: “The inclusion of this event is bound to draw comment given that it is the week of the referendum itself.
“This festival appears from the website to be largely DCC [Dublin City Council] funded. All the funders are public bodies. We are bound to get queries on the appropriateness of the inclusion.”
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