The Joyce family brought the Cuisine Buffet restaurant on York Street to court with support from the Equality Commission.

On 1 October 2022, Patrick Joyce, his wife and two adult children went to the restaurant but, after taking their seats, were told to leave.

Restaurant staff accepted that the Joyce family had not caused any disturbance or issue, but said the family were asked to leave because of alleged previous incidents with members of the Travelling community.

The family could see no reason why they were asked to leave other than the fact that they are Irish Travellers.

Cuisine Buffet Ltd did not defend the case in court and was ordered to pay compensation of £5,000 to each of the Joyce family members.

Eoin O’Neill, head of legal services at the Equality Commission, said: “What happened to the Joyce family was distressing and humiliating and, as importantly, it is against the law. Irish Travellers are protected by the Race Relations (NI) Order 1997.

“The Court found that the Joyce family were victims of discrimination because of their race. The restaurant’s refusal to allow them to remain in the establishment re-enforces racial stereotypes. It is important that this prejudice was challenged through our legal system.”