I had a really disappointing experience at Ireland's Four Courts.
I was with two friends, and we were looking for somewhere to sit. There was a four-person table where an older couple was packing up to leave, so I asked if we could have their side once they left. They said yes, and I also asked the younger couple sitting on the other side if they were okay with it, and they said yes as well.
As soon as I sat down, a server (a middle-aged white woman) came over, told me I couldn't sit there, and asked me to get up. She then placed a "Reserved" sign on the table. When I asked why, she mumbled something and walked away without explaining the policy.
My friend has been there many times and had never seen Ireland's Four Courts take reservations for tables, so I asked the younger couple how they had gotten theirs. They told me they hadn't--they had simply sat down.
A few minutes later, the same server removed the "Reserved" sign and seated a father and his son at the exact same table. I asked them how they had gotten the table, and they also said they hadn't reserved it; the server had simply told them they could sit there.
The father was incredibly kind. After I explained what had happened, he stood up and offered me his seat because he also couldn't understand why I wasn't allowed to sit there. When the server returned, she again insisted that I couldn't sit there and told the father that if he didn't want the table, he should have said so. He was just as confused as I was and went to speak with who I believe was the manager. The manager came over, apologized, and told me I could sit there as long as I ordered food. That explanation was confusing because my group already had two buckets of drinks and we were literally about to order food.
I want to be clear that I don't know what Ireland's Four Courts' seating policy is. If there is a policy that would have explained what happened, it was never communicated to me despite me asking. What was difficult to understand was why I was repeatedly told I couldn't sit there, while multiple other customers were allowed to do exactly that without issue.
The entire interaction left me feeling singled out and unwelcome. I was the only Black person involved in these interactions, while every other customer who was allowed to sit at that table was white. I can't say for certain that race was the reason for how I was treated, but given the circumstances, it's hard not to question whether it played a role. At the very least, I was treated differently from everyone else in the exact same situation, and no one was willing to clearly explain why.
I hope management looks into this and ensures that seating policies are applied consistently and clearly communicated to all guests so that no one else has a similar experience. read more