Pub in Galway allowing customers to smoke!!!

Selik

Just saw this on RTE news....

Fibber McGees on Eyre Square in Galway are allowing people to smoke! Apparently they are doing it because business is down massively from the same period last year and they've had to let one third of their staff go.

The owner/manager just basically said he couldn't care less about the law and that he's going to wait and see what happens!

Fair Fu*cks to him I say, it's good to see someone taking a stand against one of the most draconian pieces of legislation passed in recent years.

It will be interesting to watch how things develop on this one, I suspect that the bar will have to back down or it will lose it's licence - and then it REALLY will be out of business!

simu

Link

A nice hefty fine will be good for business, then?

tbh I'd say it's the fact that Eyre Sq is a construction site at the moment that's keeping people away from there.

flogen

wow, that guys a great business man...

I'm losing money, so I'm going to publically bait the government and ensure myself a nice fine on top of my low income...

He has a choice, slow business, or no business, I know what I'd pick.

(I dont know what state the place is in, so maybe simu is right, it wouldnt suprise me if it was construction, i know the Isaac Butt was nearly forced to close down cos of the luas works, and that was well before the ban came in)

flogen

tman

it was a **** pub from what i remember (very hazy memories of a pub crawl 3 years ago...)

hope the new owners do something good with the property:)

rymus

Originally posted by tman
hope the new owners do something good with the property:)

I love it

Can't wait to see the gob****e taken roughly from behind by the proper authorities.

subway_ie

Not to mention all the people who wont go in their *because* people are smoking. Although the huge publicity probably doesn't hurt...

alleepally

He's a prime gombeen. What's the point like? The ban is here to stay - end of. so business is down - I sympathise. If it's because of road works, smoking ban or whatever, do something to attract customers back. that's what a business person does. not go on tv making an arse of yourself by blatantly breaking the law.

zt

Originally posted by flogen
wow, that guys a great business man...

He has a choice, slow business, or no business, I know what I'd pick.

It was packed tonight. Seems like a good business choice to me.

If he continues to pack in 200 customers rather than the handful in most bars since the smoking ban, he will easily afford the e3000 fine.

How many pubs in Dublin will do the same before the weekend ....

alleepally

Originally posted by zt
It was packed tonight. Seems like a good business choice to me.

If he continues to pack in 200 customers rather than the handful in most bars since the smoking ban, he will easily afford the e3000 fine.

How many pubs in Dublin will do the same before the weekend ....

will be interesting to see if any follow suit but it's hard to see it. the western health board or whoever will pursue this now and make it a big test case. hopefully the guy won't be put out of business.

were you in the pub yourself tonight? what was it like. were people there because they heard it on the news ?

flogen

not to sound to cynical, but I doubt he will keep those numbers up, not many pubs could.

I'd say he will be heavily pursued, and the health board will do everything they can to crack down on him, they cant be seen to back away in what is basically the first big test of the new legislation.
I'd also say the big numbers were there as a result of the news. Lets just say it was all the local smokers coming to him to show their support, I dont imagine them going every night (unless theyre well off alcoholics), I'd say at best it will rise to last years takings once the news dies down (thats assuming it is the ban, and not the road works), I imagine his old numbers wont bring in enough to cover the fines... and don't they get their licences revoked if they are caught a certain amount of times (or is that just when they dont pay fines?).

I do hope he doesnt go out of business, but he needs to cop on, this is a very short term solution to his problem. He may get big draws for the next week, or month, but he will face big fines, and after the whole thing is over and done with, the ban will still be there, and he (as alley said) will need to think of new ways to bring in the punters (ones that dont cost him is job).

flogen

seamus

Originally posted by zt
It was packed tonight. Seems like a good business choice to me.

Until he gets fined, and all returns to normal. Twas a good move for a week or so. Get his pub on the news, let it be known to every smoker in the country, and suddenly his bar is full of smokers! That must mean that the smoking ban is killing publicans! :rolleyes:

If you put a dead sheep on the ground, called every wild dog around to come feast on it, and they all flock to it, then that means that a lack of dead sheep is stopping wild dogs from eating?

Publicans just need to cop the **** on, that if they lower prices, even slightly, their bar will be absolutely jammed, and they'll be rolling in it.

spongebob

The head inspector in the Western Health Board went off on holiday ....yesterday as it happens ......and his minions are afraid to do anything unless the big cheese is around.

Expect 2 weeks of **** all enforcement and multiple breakouts all over the Wesht.

M

Originally posted by alleepally
were you in the pub yourself tonight? what was it like. were people there because they heard it on the news ?

Sky news Ireland did a live report from the pub.
The upstairs section did look packed with smokers...cough...weeeze...
If you have sky digital,you can see the report at the start of the replay of the Sky news Ireland show by pressing the red button and selecting sky news active and then selecting the Ireland window.

It was one of their main stories so it's in the first ten minutes or so of the replay.

robbie1876

That's very irresponsible action by the owner towards his employees. I would love to see his staff walk out on him.

zt

Originally posted by robbie1876
That's very irresponsible action by the owner towards his employees. I would love to see his staff walk out on him.

The staff that still have jobs. He was inteviewed by RTE and said that he had already laid off staff.

zt

Originally posted by flogen
not to sound to cynical, but I doubt he will keep those numbers up, not many pubs could.

I'd say he will be heavily pursued, and the health board will do everything they can to crack down on him, they cant be seen to back away in what is basically the first big test of the new legislation.

I do hope he doesnt go out of business, but he needs to cop on, this is a very short term solution to his problem. He may get big draws for the next week, or month, but he will face big fines, and after the whole thing is over and done with, the ban will still be there, and he (as alley said) will need to think of new ways to bring in the punters (ones that dont cost him is job).

flogen

If his trade has really fallen by 63%, he has very little to lose at this point. At this level of loss, he will find it difficult to cover even his basic overheads.

It will take the health board about 4 - 10 weeks to even start legal action against this pub. If the bar appeals sentence then we could be talking 6 - 12 months before this is settled. IT is likely that an action would be fought with the help of the VFI.

Meanwhile, other pubs will look at his success and follow suit. I would again suggest that other pubs will follow suit within days.

jesus_thats_gre

Originally posted by robbie1876
That's very irresponsible action by the owner towards his employees. I would love to see his staff walk out on him.

I wonder if they could him? Forcing them to work in unsafe, illegal conditions?

zt

Originally posted by jesus_thats_gre
I wonder if they could him? Forcing them to work in unsafe, illegal conditions?

You are making the assumption that his staff don't support his action.

weemcd

Originally posted by Giles


Fair Fu*cks to him I say, it's good to see someone taking a stand against one of the most draconian pieces of legislation passed in recent years.

Dude were you on a news broadcast when the ban was first introduced? I could swear someone on the news said the exact same phrase as that

Puck

I hope he loses his licence.

flogen

Originally posted by zt
If his trade has really fallen by 63%, he has very little to lose at this point. At this level of loss, he will find it difficult to cover even his basic overheads.

And breaking the law and encuring fines will help that? If he can't keep his head above water legally, whatever the reasons, he's in the wrong game.

It will take the health board about 4 - 10 weeks to even start legal action against this pub. If the bar appeals sentence then we could be talking 6 - 12 months before this is settled. IT is likely that an action would be fought with the help of the VFI.

I have no idea just how long it will take the health board to deal with him, but I'd say your estimates are total guess work, and over the top. For a start, fines can be handed out easily, you dont need a court case to do that. Also, if he fails to pay fines, or fails to comply enough, its very simple to pull his licence. I'd say any legal action will be appeals against the licence being revolked, which will occour after he's closed up for breaking the law. Also, the VFI wont have a leg to stand on.

Meanwhile, other pubs will look at his success and follow suit. I would again suggest that other pubs will follow suit within days.

You really think that? most businesses and businessmen/women are clever enough to understand short term profit is not as good as long term profit... it makes sense on every level. To make big bucks for a week and lose your company shortly afterwards, or even months later as a result is terrible business-sense. Even if he multiplies his profit by 200% for 6 months, the money wont last long, especially if he does plan to appeal any fines/licence fee revoking in court, which are all sure to be thrown back at him.

flogen

jank

I smell a revolution akin to the october revolution but its in ...er july:dunno:

It will be interesting to see what happens.
If others follow suit then it could be trouble

Selik

Originally posted by weemcd
Dude were you on a news broadcast when the ban was first introduced? I could swear someone on the news said the exact same phrase as that

Nah it's just my own humble opinion on the situation...

weemcd

okeh cool i did hear someone say something very similar to that.

dont look at me like that, im no crazy, il never go back to the institute you cant make me!

/me runs off

bean

The ban is something that as an Irishman i can be pround of.

Those greedy gits have had it there way long enough. They have never had to deal with anyone telling them what to do.

Hope he loses his licence.........idiot

uberwolf

two things I wonder.

How many times this chap has raised his prices in the last year.

If it would be possible for a staff member to sue for reckless endangerment/unsafe working environment or similar. The owner has after all ignored the law and best medical advice and jeopardised his employees health - purely for profit by his own admission. Now thats a test case I'd like to see.

Sleepy

You can be assured that Ronan Lawless (the owner of Fibber's unless the place has changed hands recently) is not likely to have taken this decision without some thought. This is, after all, the same man that buys a new Lexus after NUIG's Rag Week every year. I'd agree that this could be an attempt to force the government into a test case, funded by the Vintners. He'll be trying to take them on, not go out of business and given that he owns a string of pubs in Galway this could hurt him financially but don't delude yourself that it'll bankrupt him.

I'd agree with what a lot of others have said that the construction work on Eyre Square is more likely to be causing the damage to business, other pubs in Galway aren't suffering that much. I was out in Galway at the weekend and every pub I went near was jammed.

Fibber Magees was always a dive though tbh so it won't really be that much of a loss if it does close.

Fudger

the place is a dump and he is a prat. They somehow bounced two brain cells together which generated some heat and then they came up with marketing idea of "jasus boy sure f*ck it business is crap so lets get some free publicity all over the primetime news and be the talk of the land" thus ignorant smokers sick of standing in the rain will flock to the pub and boost business. As stated above it will take months maybe years for the government to finally be able to shut them down after dragging it through the courts. The git seems to think he is law onto himself. Sure feck it we might aswell start drinking and driving with no insurance while chatting on our mobile phones. It may be a b*tch about no smoking in pubs but its the LAW.

Mighty_Mouse

that buys a new Lexus after NUIG's Rag Week every year.

I've never heard of anyone from NUI,Galway drinking there. It's a GIT pub as far as I know.

1.)He's down on business because the Eyre Square works have dug up the front entrance to his pub and that side of the Square is terrible at the moment. Especially in the rain of the last few weeks , who's gonna trounce through muck to get to Fibbers
2.) The students are gone which tends to damage a student pub
3.) Its a smelly kip
4.) better entertainment in other pubs in Galway
5.)the price of drink
7.) the price of drink
8.) the price of drink
9.) the price of drink
10.) the price of drink!!!!!!!!!!

Personaly I haven't gone to a pub for "the night" since god knows when. The most I'd go for is one or two pints (same in nightclub) after a carry out with friends.

Sleepy

Originally posted by Mighty_Mouse
I've never heard of anyone from NUI,Galway drinking there. It's a GIT pub as far as I know.

Yeah, but he also owns Fox's, Morgans, The River Inn and a few others I can't remember off the top of me head.

ven0m

Actually - drink sales are way down apparently acorrding to an article on the front page of the Indo yesterday. What gets me is - publicans are aware of this & keep trying to cream it in - nor do the vinter's association give a damn about drink/driving - otherwise they'd make it more viable for people to stay dry & drive with cheap soft drinks. When a pint of soft drinks costs the same as a pint of beer or more, you know you have a problem...... I have NO sympathy for ANY publican who goes out of business anymore. The only people I have sympathy for is their staff who inevitably lose their jobs all because their employer was a greedy b*****ks!

Sleepy

Pub drink sales are way down. Off licence sales are way up. Hmm, I wonder what's causing this. Maybe it's that unless your name is Tarquin, you pronounce Dart as DORT and you either made silly money during the boom or have a rich Daddy you can't afford to drink in a pub regularly. I think I've been to the pub twice in the last month or so. It's just too damn expensive to drink in them when you can have the same (or better alcohol at home) for a quarter of the price.

dudara

Fair Fu*cks to him I say, it's good to see someone taking a stand against one of the most draconian pieces of legislation passed in recent years.

Ah, welcome to the land of the ignorant..

wait until he starts getting fined, and the customers caught smoking get fined as well. Remember that it's just not the publican that can get fined. It will be interesting to see how many customers will go there to smoke if they're going to get fined.

Like a previous poster said, it's all to do with the price of drink. Do the vinters ever consider that for a second?

BUMP!

...I hope he gets closed down...

Why? If you dont like it dont go there. If he was telling the truth, he was slowly going out of business anyway - at least this way he gets good publicity which never does any harm even if he has to concede.
Anyone who complains about this are those righteous little a$$holes who like nothing better than to tell everyone else exactly how to live their lives.

briano

Its not all about prices though keeping customers out of bars either:

the bar I work in charges E3 for a guinness and E3.5 for a beer (premiums like warstiner are a massive E3.80) all week and for most of the weekend, but people still go to the pub around the corner, which is renound for ****ty service and really really expensive drink. Obviously I don't want to be too specific, but its name starts with "T" and ends with "urk's Head".

The Bar I'm in isn't that badly decorated, plays good music and has lots of seating but customers can't be bothered to walk the extra hundred meters and stay drinking in more expensive bars.

Now, I'm not trying to get everyone to drink in my work, but as long as people still go to pubs that charge extortionate prices, the publicans will keep on charging us through the nose. Its just good business sense for them: if a bar can make 3 euro off one pint of beer at 5 euro a pop, or sell twice as much beer but only make 1.50 a pint they will go for the 5 euro pint every time - less pints to be served == less staff to pay == less hassle for the publicans.

<cough>bastards</cough>

egan007

The Smkoing Ban is an easy target to blame

Screw you publicans - those figures about drink consumption being down were from 2003

the extraordinary price of drink is to blame- from talking to people most people prefer the non smoking pub.

It does not take a genius to see that if you take down the prices lower then anyone else you will fill the place ....greed greed greed

tinofapples

Yeah, but he also owns Fox's, Morgans, The River Inn and a few others I can't remember off the top of me head.

He's also bought Cooke's Thatch in Shantalla/Newcastle. He had that Bogard's place in Salthill too. The guy has creamed it over the last ten years in Galway. Fibbers was an okay spot when it opened as Fibbers first but has steadily gone down hill , the majority of Galway now consider it to be a sh1thole.

I agree with anyone who says that the construction/destruction works around Eyre Square are affecting the pub more so than the smoking ban but I also agree with anyone who says that it's a cheap publicity stunt

uberwolf

Originally posted by briano

The Bar I'm in isn't that badly decorated, plays good music and has lots of seating but customers can't be bothered to walk the extra hundred meters and stay drinking in more expensive bars.

whats the name of this fine sounding establishment?

BigEejit

Unfortunately Briano ...when a bar owner see's that his bar becoming more popular the first thing to happen is the price of drink goes up .....

briano

Ummm, I don't want to sound like I'm advertising it, But, then again, meh:

Karma, on fishamble st. Used to be handels.

We don't allow smoking though.:)

Sleepy

Originally posted by briano
Its not all about prices though keeping customers out of bars either:

the bar I work in charges E3 for a guinness and E3.5 for a beer (premiums like warstiner are a massive E3.80) all week and for most of the weekend, but people still go to the pub around the corner, which is renound for ****ty service and really really expensive drink. Obviously I don't want to be too specific, but its name starts with "T" and ends with "urk's Head".

The Bar I'm in isn't that badly decorated, plays good music and has lots of seating but customers can't be bothered to walk the extra hundred meters and stay drinking in more expensive bars.

Now, I'm not trying to get everyone to drink in my work, but as long as people still go to pubs that charge extortionate prices, the publicans will keep on charging us through the nose. Its just good business sense for them: if a bar can make 3 euro off one pint of beer at 5 euro a pop, or sell twice as much beer but only make 1.50 a pint they will go for the 5 euro pint every time - less pints to be served == less staff to pay == less hassle for the publicans.

<cough>bastards</cough>

€3 a Guiness? Where is this establishment?

Frank Grimes

Originally posted by uberwolf
whats the name of this fine sounding establishment?

Yeah, I'd like to know too. €3 a pint sounds pretty good for that part of the city.
edit: Just saw briano's post. Can't delete this one for some reason.

Ronan|Raven

Ah fibber's a truely god awful pub imho. Used to aviod it most of the time when I were a student up there. Still do whenever im in the city. One other thing is the major redevelopment of Eyre Square cant be helping his business either. Hope they have improved the quality of the overpriced pisswater they used to sell in there

Fudger

Why? If you dont like it dont go there. If he was telling the truth, he was slowly going out of business anyway - at least this way he gets good publicity which never does any harm even if he has to concede. Anyone who complains about this are those righteous little a$$holes who like nothing better than to tell everyone else exactly how to live their lives.

Ah the stupidity of some views...keeps me going through the day !

Batbat

if people want to smoke in that pub and the employees dont mind its none of your or the governments fking business. Dont go into the place if you dont like smoke

All this talk of the Law, its not made by god its mans law and it can be unfair and mistaken, this is the same laws that put people behind bars for not paying the tv fee and let rich cocksuckers waste milions on tribunals. fuuck the law and this nanny state government.

Get your head out of the sand and think!

Frank Grimes

Originally posted by Batbat
Get your head out of the sand and think!

So people should be allowed pick and choose what laws they will obey?

dudara

Completely disagree with you there bat

this is the right law. And this publican is an ignorant f**ker for doing what he's doing.

Sleipnir

Well if the VFI aren't backing him, he screwed.

The Vintners Federation of Ireland has refused to support a Galway publican who is defying the Government's workplace smoking ban. Ciaran Levanzin, the owner of Fibber Magee's on Eyre Square, has decided to allow smoking in a designated section of his bar because of a 50% drop in business since the introduction of the ban on March 29th. Asked about the matter today, the VFI said it understood Mr Levanzin's frustrations, but could not condone anyone breaking the law.

fuuck the law and this nanny state government.

Yeah, power to the people etc etc :rolleyes:

Batbat

yes people should pick and choose what laws they should adhere to, we do it all the time, for example you go outside with a beer, for a small time, drinking on the streets is against the law, but it is ignored mostly because there is fair application of the law.

blanket bans like there are not good law because they are black and while, there should be reasonable exception to the rule to accommodate the significant minority who want to DOT (damage over time ) themselves freely (as long as no one else gets hurt)

If there is a pub where people smoke and only frequented by people who smoke and with smoking employees who agree , this is also fair application of the law, of a fair law, not this stupid law.

look if i want to sit in a field and cover myself with ice-cream and i probably almost freeze to death then its none of your goddam business, as long as you don’t get hurt.

its simply not the business of the government to control peoples behaviour to this extent.

Look Nazi Germany passed a law prohibiting Jews from land ownership in Germany, this was law but it was the responsibility of all fair-minded citizens not to follow this law or any other unjust law, this is an extreme example but it illustrates a point.

Finally I might add that Im a smoker and I find it generally better in a pub now without being choked by smoke.

uberwolf

Originally posted by Batbat


If there is a pub where people smoke and only frequented by people who smoke and with smoking employees who agree , this is also fair application of the law, of a fair law, not this stupid law.

this debate has been had before. The law was brought in to protect employees. If a potential employee was asked did he mind working in a smoky atmosphere in an interview and he said yes he wouldn't get the job. Therefore people who wished to protect their health would be economically discrimanted against with no recourse, which is why a blanket ban was enacted.

Comparing this to Nazi germany show a gross misunderstanding of both Nazi germany and the smoking ban.

But you are right, pubs are better since it was introduced. Next step - price control.

dudara

I might cause a lot of replies with this but here goes

sometimes the general public need laws to be enforced for them, whether they agree with them or not, because the general public is fairly stupid en masse, just as the recent referendum showed, or so I believe. Sometimes laws need to be introduced to protect people from themselves.

(Let me qualify this by just saying that I do think citizenship laws need to be looked at, just that this referendum was swallowed hook line and sinker by the general public)