THE son of well-known publican Charlie Chawke enjoyed a lavish five-star wedding party in Marbella last weekend as he and his sister await sentencing for assault.

Bill Chawke – whose father Charlie owns a chain of pubs including The Oval Bar and The Bank in Dublin city – had a civil wedding in March, with the main celebration happening this weekend in the Spanish resort city.

The 32-year-old groom, who co-owns Searson’s pub in Dublin 4 with his father, pleaded guilty to assault causing harm in May, relating to an incident in his father’s home town of Adare, Co. Limerick, two-and-a-half years ago.

He and his sister Alison Chawke, 41, who also pleaded guilty, attacked two men in the residents’ bar of the Dunraven Arms Hotel, Adare, in November 2023 in what was described in court as a ‘vicious and unprovoked’ assault.

Their sentencing hearings were last week set for July 14 at Limerick Circuit Criminal Court.

In the meantime, the youngest son of the self-made pub-chain businessman celebrated his marriage to Sarah McKenna, a doctor, at the luxury Anantara Villa Padierna Palace Benahavís Marbella Resort last weekend.

The couple enjoyed blue skies and temperatures in the mid-20s on the hotel’s outdoor Linares Terrace after they exchanged vows for a second time at a Roman amphitheatre on the grounds of the luxury resort.

The resort is described in its brochure as a ‘stunningly romantic venue beautifully lit up at night for a glamorous open-air reception’, where the celebrating bride and groom can ‘make a dramatic entrance down the sweeping marble staircase’.

The adjoined ballroom and foyers are described as ‘palatial’ and ‘perfect for white weddings and decadent banquets’, with space for up to 500 guests.

Marriage records show the couple officially wed at Trinity College Chapel in Dublin last March.

The groom’s sister and co-accused Alison, a mother of three, served as a witness on the day.

The siblings were captured on CCTV and in mobile phone footage violently setting upon the two men, both in their 50s, during the 2023 incident.

The court heard that they had consumed seven drinks each on the day, and that Mr Chawke had been acting ‘stubborn and arrogant’ in repeatedly asking for food despite having been told the kitchen was closed.

After one of the victims asked Mr Chawke to stop annoying the bar staff, a verbal altercation broke out before Mr Chawke lunged at and hit the man.

Ms Chawke subsequently bit the man’s friend on the face and threw kicks at his head as her brother wrestled with him on the floor.

Ms Chawke also threw a pint glass from behind the bar, which did not break.

One of the victims said his eyes had been gouged by Mr Chawke, and had feared that he would suffer permanent damage to his eyesight as a result.

The court heard the siblings had brought ‘shame’ to the locality, where the family are well-known.

The senior Mr Chawke is the owner of Bill Chawke’s pub in Adare, named after his father, the defendants’ grandfather.

His hospitality chain, The Chawke Group, is made up of nine pubs, four pizzerias and a coffee shop in Dublin and Limerick.

Other well-known Dublin pubs under the umbrella include The Goat in Goatstown and The Dropping Well in Rathmines.

Mr Chawke Sr had made headlines in 2003 when he was shot in the leg during an armed robbery of The Goat.

Other venues in their portfolio include the Lord Lucan and The Old Orchard Inn, both in Dublin, and Aunty Lena’s Bar & Courthouse in Adare.

According to The Chawke Group website, Mr Chawke Sr moved to Dublin aged 16 in 1965, where he began his working life in Davy Byrne’s pub.

He bought his first pubs just five years later, and subsequently built the group he owns today.