Irish minister quits after breaching tightened coronavirus lockdown rules

Agriculture Minister Dara Calleary apologises for attending a golf club dinner with 80 people in Galway

Ireland's agriculture minister Dara Calleary resigned on August 21, 2020 for breaching government coronavirus guidelines by attending a parliamentary golf society dinner. /AFP 

The Irish agriculture minister, Dara Calleary, has resigned after he flouted coronavirus lockdown rules by sitting down to a golf dinner attended by more than 80 people.

The Irish Examiner reported that Mr Calleary attended an Oireachtas Golf Society event at a County Galway hotel on Wednesday.

However, public health advice prohibits indoor gatherings of more than six people to slow the spread of the virus.

Ireland's EU Commissioner Phil Hogan was also a guest at the dinner, local media reported.

Less than a day before the event, the Irish government said it would reverse some of its lockdown easing measures to deal with a surge of Covid-19 cases.

The agriculture minister apologised on Twitter for attending the dinner on Thursday.

"In light of the updated public health guidance this week I should not have attended the event," he said.

"I wish to apologise unreservedly to the public, from whom we are asking quite a lot at this difficult time. I also offer this apology and my sincere regret to my government colleagues."

Other local media reported Mr Calleary had apologised to the Taoiseach, and contacted the leaders of Fine Gael and the Green Party.

On Wednesday, Irish Health Minister Stephen Donnelly said the republic was “at the tipping point” after weekly cases surged from 61 a few weeks ago to 533 last week.

As well as restricting social gatherings indoors, crowds attending outdoor events, including sports, have since been reduced from 200 to 15.

Those aged over 70 are again being asked to shelter in their homes as much as possible and workers are encouraged to work remotely.

There are more than 27,600 known cases of Covid-19 in Ireland and the country has seen over 1,700 deaths.