Bill Holohan, Solicitor
Sunday Business Post, 31/12/1995

Cork lawyers tend to protect their patch by the Lee with a ferocity that would make the deeds of Samurai warriors in ancient Japan pale by comparison. Bill Holohan is in a different mould. A partner with solicitors G J Moloney, his firm has made rapid progress since expanding into the Dublin market from its Cork base in 1991. Having qualified as a solicitor in 1983, 35-year-old Holohan has made a name for himself in a relatively short time, having joined the firm in 1989. Aside from private client work, Holohan has acted for the Official Assignee in a number of High Court bankruptcy proceedings.
Although the practice is only 13 years old, G J Moloney's clients include Aer Rianta, Apple Computer, AIB, Bank of Ireland, ESB, Church and General Insurance Company, Insurance Corporation of Ireland, Trustee Savings Bank, and Hickson Pharmaceuticals. A commercial and litigation solicitor, Holohan specialises in insolvency, bankruptcy and maritime law. In 1991 he was co-author with Mark Sanfey of Bankruptcy Law and Practice, the definitive Irish textbook on the law of bankruptcy. An active member of a number of legal associations, he is legal adviser to the Irish Franchise Association.

	Bill Holohan opens specialist law boutique. Sunday Business Post, 15/11/1998. By Ted Harding
	Groundbreaker Bill Holohan has launched an innovative venture. Seven years ago he laid the foundations for the expansion of Cork law firm GJ Moloney into the Dublin market. Now the solicitor has left his position as partner with the firm and set up his own boutique practice with offices in Dublin and Cork. The rapid development of firms on the continent offering a personalised service in specialised areas of law convinced Holohan that it was time to strike out on his own.
He is a commercial and litigation solicitor, specialising in insolvency, bankruptcy and maritime law. In 1991 Holohan was coauthor with barrister Mark Sanfey of Bankruptcy Law and Practice, the definitive textbook on Irish bankruptcy law. Holohan has acted in a number of major insolvencies including representing the liquidator of the Kentz Group. He has extensive experience in arbitration and has been appointed by the President of the Law Society and the President of the Society of the Irish Motor Industry to act as arbitrator Holohan is co-author of a text on international civil procedures and co-author of International Rescue of Companies Since 1990 Holohan has acted as the legal adviser to the Irish Franchise Association. Currently he is negotiating with publishers on the publication of Franchising Law and Practice in Ireland, which is due for release in about two years. Licensing law is another area where Holohan has made his mark. In 1991 the Point Exhibition Company, advised by Holohan, forced the Revenue Commissioners to issue a special form of drinks licence to places of public entertainment. It had been thought that such a licence had been abolished over 100 years earlier. In the wake of the victory Holohan was consulted by a large number of entertainment venues who wished to obtain similar licences.

They'll be dancing in the streets over license change.
Sunday Business Post, 27/12/1998.
By Ted Harding

Major changes in licensing law are expected to flow from a recent Supreme Court decision. Legal sources believe that following the decision any venue which has a music and singing licence or a dance licence could be entitled to apply for a permit to sell alcohol for up to 24 hours a day. The court decision could create the opportunity for a variety of venues to benefit from the liberal licensing terms. Venues hosting a range of activities from bowling alleys to art exhibitions could apply for the licence provided that the location in which the entertainment takes place holds a music and singing licence or a dancing licence. Legislation may be required to tighten the law in the aftermath of the Supreme Court decision.
The court judgment flowed from submissions made by solicitor Bill Holohan during an appeal taken by the Tivoli Theatre, Dublin, arising from a prosecution under licensing law. Under the Excise Act 1835 the Revenue Commissioners can issue an excise licence to a licensed theatre or place of public entertainment, but the legislation fails to define those places. The Point Depot took a High Court case in 1991 seeking interpretation of licensing law. Before that case it had been thought the right of a place of public entertainment to apply for a licence had been abolished about 100 years ago. But the abolition only applied to England.
The Point case established that a licensed place of public entertainment is entitled to such a licence, but the judgment failed to define what that meant. Consequently the Revenue was left to determine how licences would be allocated. It was feared that a wide range of entertainment venues could qualify. In theory, a licensed place of entertainment which provided lawfully permitted entertainment 24 hours per day could serve alcohol throughout that time. The Revenue sought to limit the grant of licences to theatrestyle venues. Despite this, problems arose and the Tivoli Theatre, Dublin, was prosecuted. A number of issues had to be determined, among them what constituted entertainment. There was evidence that prerecorded music was playing before the main act commenced when the Garda raided the venue on two separate nights.
Ultimately the Supreme Court decided that this constituted entertainment. The court accepted the argument that anything which entertains qualifies as entertainment, and if the venue is one to which the public have access it is a place of public entertainment. Essentially the Supreme Court rejected the restrictive approach that had been adopted by the Revenue.