They must have thought they were on the set of Father Ted. A council function to welcome American visitors to Longford was raided by gardai who removed all of the alcohol.

The reception, a celebration of Irish culture, was attended by two Longford mayors, several local councillors and representatives of the state of Nevada. The gardai have yet to return the confiscated booze, a procedure that may prove impossible since nobody will own up to buying it.

The function was organised for a visiting group of 15- to 20-year-olds from Sparks, a city in Nevada twinned with Longford, in an arrangement where the two co-operate to promote tourism. The visitors were members of the Edward C. Reed high school band. They had been shown around Longford before being treated to a night of Irish dancing in the Haggard, a hall in Moyne.

The venue does not have a licence to sell alcohol, but has in the past held cultural events where locals are encouraged to bring their own beer. It is understood a similar arrangement was in place for the council reception, but gardai moved in on suspicion that licensing laws were being breached.

Some councillors are now claiming that there was no alcohol on the premises, but gardai in Granard have confirmed that they seized a quantity and have retained it as evidence. “[We] carried out a search of a premises in the Moyne area by way of a warrant under the Liquor Licensing Acts. During the course of the search a quantity of alcohol was seized,” said a garda press officer. “The matter is under investigation and inquiries are ongoing.”

Officials and councillors from Longford town and county councils have claimed they had left the premises before the raid, and that the band had gone home as well. Attempts by The Sunday Times to clarify what occurred at the event, held on September 27, were met with contradictory accounts.

Haggard Hall is owned by Michael Masterson, who was unavailable for comment. A worker at the hall said: “There was a lot of wine there, and cans of Heineken and Budweiser. The guards came, and were very courteous. They had a court order and everything. The alcohol belonged to Longford town council, so it was unusual to see one arm of the state bringing the alcohol in and another taking it away.”

He confirmed that the venue has allowed guests to bring their own alcohol to events. “There’s nothing sold but people bring their own when there’s a function on,” he said.

Brendan Gilmore, the mayor of Longford town council, said that he was not “up to speed” on the case. “We didn’t provide drinks, because there were youngsters there,” he said. “We provided the meals all right, but there was no alcohol supplied. The council never provides alcohol. As far as I’m aware of, anyway.”

He said that he did not know who had organised the night. “I don’t even know what went on there. There would have been tea and sandwiches. As far as I’m concerned, everything was above board.”

But Peggy Nolan, the mayor of Longford county council, who attended the event but left early, said that there was wine at the function. “They [the visitors] fundraised for the trip themselves and we made the most of it. This is not the time to be turning away visitors. It was a fantastic PR exercise.”

She said that the town council had organised the event and had also “picked up the tab”.

John Duffy, a local councillor who was present, said that there was “definitely no money exchanging hands” [for alcohol] on the night. Paul Connell, another town councillor who was present, claimed that the event had nothing to do with the council, while confirming that alcohol was present. He said the group had been invited by the owners of the hall.

“We had a meal from outside caterers and the only drink was wine,” he said. “The town council didn’t organise it. We were invited by the community in Longford. We invited the people from Sparks over, then they were invited to the Haggard, but we would not have been aware that they were going there.”

He said that he did not know where the alcohol came from.

The worker at the Haggard denied this version of events. “No, it wasn’t a case of us inviting them all in, but I don’t want to get the council in trouble. My understanding is that the alcohol belonged to the town council. Everybody seemed to think so on the night anyway.”

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