The ruling against Portmarnock Golf Club established very important principles and sent out the message that discrimination against women was not acceptable in today's society, the CEO of the Equality Authority said yesterday.
Speaking after the court judgment, Mr Niall Crowley said although there were other judicial proceedings in train, it was a very important case and it established the right of access of women to significant establishments.
The Portmarnock Golf Club members who were present in court would not comment after the judgment. A spokesman for the club issued a statement immediately afterwards.
It said: "It has always been the club's position that the High Court rather than the District Court is the appropriate forum to determine the issues arising in this case. The club will await the decision of the High Court before commenting further."
Mr Crowley said the case went beyond women golfers. It was important for women generally. "This case holds up a mirror to society. I hope this case can encourage new perceptions and new attitudes. Hopefully today can be a stimulus for change," he said.
This case addressed an issue in a society where, if it was socially acceptable for significant institutions to exclude women, then it was a society which tolerated discrimination, he said.
"In terms of society, the judgment sends out the right message. Now that the precedence has been set, I hope that the perception changes and will not be confined just to this golf club. This is part of a wider picture."
He said where significant social institutions in society could exclude women, they faced real barriers in turning the Authority's commitment to equality into real change in the situation and experience of women.
"For women golfers this outcome should contribute to a new access to golf clubs and to the benefits, recreational, social and economic, that accompany membership," he added.
The chairperson of the National Women's Council of Ireland, Ms Mary Kelly, said she welcomed the ruling. "It is a very important signal to Irish society that people cannot be precluded from a club on the basis of gender," she said.
Ms Kelly said they would feel it was important to have a robust Equal Status Act capable of both demonstrating where discrimination happened and of imposing sanctions.
"It is with the deepest regret that in 2004 when so many golf clubs and other clubs which had old-fashioned ideas changed their attitude and rules, that such a prestigious institution did not take the same view and has been found in breach of the Act."
The purpose of the Act was to test cases such as this and it was not just about gender, she added.
Progressive Democrat TD, Ms Fiona Malley said: "Today's decision by the District Court is welcome legal confirmation that Portmarnock is discriminating against women. I think it is reprehensible that a golf club could prevent women from becoming members.
"While, thankfully, Portmarnock is one of only a handful of dinosaur-like institutions left in this country, this ruling sends out a positive message that in today's society, the exclusion of women will not be tolerated," she said.