Pubs in Galway closing at 1am

Seen this on facebook as well, where is this petition going? Is it aimed at the gards, politicians or both?

The problem is the law, jesus I never thought I'd say this but it isn't the gards job to decide what laws to abide by. Its a daft thing for them to focus on but at the end of the day the law isn't at their discretion.

Although I must say I am glad that the superintendent came out with such a great statement, obviously every other crime has been solved now its time to try and clamp down on people being in a place where drink can be, relatively, controlled.

BhoscaCapall wrote: »

It sort of is though, hence the fact this wasn't a problem for the past forever.

The legislation hasn't changed, the behaviour of the guards has - thanks to one jobsworth.

I honestly always thought half 2 was way too early for a nightclub to close. Now it's 1am? Oh well, be cheaper nights providing the club's don't have the cheek to charge us for being in there for one hour. Then back to the houseparties to get up to plenty of worse things than consuming alcohol in a controlled premises at 1.30am :eek:

Will also have to make sure we start extra early on Saturday, might even binge drink (that's consuming 3 drinks in a row or something, right?). Fúck it, I won't even pick my rubbish up. A.C.A.B.

Don't get me wrong, its horrible being in a position where I'm defending the gards and I hate everyone of yee for making me "that guy".
Again though the behavior of the gards is largely irrelevant due to the fact that even if we petition them, the law remains the same.

This is a serious problem and I think this will extend beyond the current petition and a couple of supportive facebook pages. They are indeed well intentioned, but if intentions are good then a step back for a moment to realise what the issue is, the law. The road to hell is paved with good intentions.

For far too long now the question about adjusting the closing times for pubs and clubs has been largely side stepped and politicians, the ones who can develop the change, have ignored it as it is one of those issues that can split their voters so being on either side of the argument is detrimental so why bother with it?
Local politicians, as ignorantly stupid as they are to the facts about longer opening hours and the fall in crime in general, need to be contacted. It well and good liking a facebook page and signing the petition but if people are serious about this then they need to realise how real change can actually be made.

This may sound a bit harsh on those looking to make the changes necessary but if people are serious about this then they need to get serious about it. A few things done differently now makes the difference about how we talk about this being a success of a failure in a few weeks/months.

evil_seed wrote: »

That's my point. It shouldn't be a big deal. 1AM is already passed licencing hours.

The hour is a major issue if you're one of the businesses who are paying €410 per night for them. It mightn't sound like much to some people but it's €150k per year and on many weeknights it's the difference between being open late or not. It potentially makes business unviable for some of the clubs and late bars if they're not able to provide much more than the bar around the corner and possibly want a cover charge too. It's also an issue if it puts licensing in Galway City (Ireland's most popular tourist destination this year) on a considerably early timetable than the rest of the country.

Not everyone may like it but there's a large group of Galway's population who like the option of a late night out like you can have in any other city in Ireland.

evil_seed wrote: »

And people blaming the super is silly. It's the licencing sergeant. It's all in the sentinel

There's both a new Superintendent and new Licensing Sergeant. It you think that the Licensing Sergeant has been doing this all month without the explicit approval of the Superintendent you're definitely mistaken.

Hugh Echoing Orchid wrote: »

I'm telling you it isn't. Last Saturday night in the brogue no drink after 2. In the Bowery a few weeks ago bar closed at 2 on the button. Regularly in the Roxy (upstairs in The classic ) bar closes at 2. This is weekends I'm talking about, closing time the same during the week. Same in the bodega, Crane lane, slate, soho and reardens. The only place I'm not sure is Havanas as I've been too loaded to remember any weekend I was there but it was 2 on a recent Wednesday night I was there.

I noticed the minute I moved to Cork how bars close at 2 and they are all very quick to kick you out, hardly time to finish a drink.

I'm out in Cork twice a week nearly every week I know when places stop serving.

Iv lived in Cork my whole life, and havanas closed at 2.30 the last time I was there, bar might have closed at 2 but we didnt get rushed out anyway.
Also another club I go to outside the city closes at about 2.30 or even 3 on occasions.

Most places you named there are late bars and a lot of the time they close before clubs anyway.

And if you look at Reardons facebook page it says half 2.

Even if the bar closes at 2 which it prob does in most places you should get half an hour drinking up time which would bring the opening time to 2.30.

Whats happening with this in Galway actually? Are they saying closing at 1am and kicking everyone out then or do people get the half an hour drinking up time?

What's with the need for a late license anyway ? Maybe I sound naive but what's the purpose of it ?

squonk wrote: »

What I don't get is why the pubs and people complaining about this don't insist that a late licence be purchased? If a part of your business relies on you being open til 2 on a regular basis then make that official.

The point is that they are purchasing the late licenses (bar exemptions) for the nights in question. The service hours normally allowed with the late license have been reduced by the Gardaí. Normal pubs in Galway City still need to stop serving at 11.30pm Sun-Thu and 12.30am on Fri/Sat.