nav[aria-label="Primary Navigation"] { padding: 0; & ul { list-style: none; width: 100%; display: flex; flex-direction: row; justify-content: start; align-items: start; gap: 30px; padding: 0; & li { margin: 0; } & ul li { list-style: none; } } }

Child Item

Is the Irish pub in trouble?

JupiterKid

It seems that since the 2004 smoking ban and the crackdown on drink driving and the post Tiger recession, pubs are closing all over the country in their droves. Rural towns that had perhaps 8 or 9 pubs now only have 3 or 4. Those remaining open are having to offer food offerings, smoking beer gardens, live music. Many pubs only open in the evenings on a Thurs to Sunday basis now.

The tiny old man single room pubs are virtually disappearing. What is the reason for this change? More home drinking? Pub alcohol prices too high or a more general shift in Irish culture?

Is really does seem that the the golden era of the Irish pub is well and truly over.

Thoughts?

Find more posts tagged with

Quick Links

Comments

Stovepipe

Coming into work now with a sore head from pints will get you short shrift from management, these days, especially if you have any contact with the public. The old days of companies carrying a standing army of alcos on the books are gone. People are less willing to "carry" a heavy drinker's workload and less likely to cover for an absence. Certainly, like MV above, I've been in jobs where drinking was regarded as the norm but it's gone now.

Feisar

Hmm,

Don't think I've ever thanked so many and sometimes conflicting posts ever.

I agree, rural pubs are dying because rural Ireland is dying. Fond memories as an underage lad drinking Lucozade's playing pool in and old mans bar with my Dad when we visited his home place in the West. (Dad was never a pub man, the aforementioned was a rarity)

Bar work put me through college, if there's anyone here that drank in Mullingar between 2002-2006, I probably served you a pint. I like to think I was good at it and knew my regulars etc but today's bars are filled with kids that wouldn't serve Mass.

We're getting married in a few weeks so guess what we never do? Go to the pub! If we want a few drinks at the weekend, €20 in Aldi has us sorted.
As someone said, if you weren't in the pub on Fri/Sat night you were missing out. Social media now gives people that connection, last time we went out all we could see was 18 to 21 year olds preening themselves for selfies/snapchat pics.

Also free into the nightclubs before 10/11 hurt a lot of the bars

Zebra3

cryptocurrency wrote: »

From what I seen tonight I will celebrate some pubs demise. They deserve it.

Why? They won’t accept Bitcoin?

ArnoldJRimmer

Was home for Christmas and went down to the local for a few pints. This place has made every effort over the last few years, decor is up to date, they started doing food, expanded their beer collection, hire the odd band, and the owner generally maintains a respectable joint. Still the place was absolutely dead. Its a small town with limited choices, but still, no one around. I heard it was the same throughout the town on Stephens night.

Rural Ireland is dead on its feet. I know there are more choices now outside of the pub, and drinking at home is more popular, but people just can't afford to go to the pub or do little else now either. Now the progress Ireland has made in the last 30 years has been great, it used to be such a bleak place. But an unfortunate side effect is the slow death of country communities. Then you have the opposite problem in urban areas, people paying a fortune to live in soulless estates with a long commute attached.

harry Bailey esq

Went into a pub today, one I have only been in few times before in two years and I remembered both dates a durations and was with my other half and child.
I don’t go there as I have to drive and it’s out of my way. Today I called in and ordered a glass of Guinness only to be refused and told I was in there a few months ago with another guy and was causing a fight. This surprised me as it’s not something I’ve ever done or been accused of, infact most people would laugh at that idea of me. I said to the bar man you have made a mistake, 100% there is no chance of this. He said there is CCTV footage of this incident and the landlord had it and said I was not to be served. I said what time was the landlord in..he said 7.30. I come back at 7.30, bar man said 8..waited till 8 till the landlord arrived. I asked the landlord for a word and explained the situation and he said that his barman said it was me and he will back his staff. I informed him I am certain it wasn’t me as I have never been in the place with friends or a friend and just a few flying visits with family when we pop into the veg shop next door. He said there was no CCTV and repeated he will back his staff. I said ask all your staff as they are the ones I have dealt with and he said he will come back to me. He then said he has a right to do what he likes and I will have to put up with it. I said I would speak with a solicitor and he just laughed saying “I’m insured” ..I sense this was just a chip at my UK accent.
Now that this is clearly a mix up and he hasn’t an ounce of proof to his or his staffs claims is this slander or defamation of character if they still stick to this wild claim?
I’m happy to consider contacting a solicitor as I can’t believe we live in a world where people can publicly point and people and make wild unsubstantiated claims about them

JupiterKid

Can we add a poll to this thread?

I agree that much of rural Ireland is dying on its feet - but piss poor planning allowing one off houses that in a generation will be abandoned derelict shells, whilst currently sucking the life out of smaller towns and villages, is largely to blame here. Land use and strategic planning has been a complete disaster in this country.

I reckon by 2060 much of the non tourist parts of rural Ireland will consist of abandoned one off rural houses, wind farms, big areas of forests and very large mechanized farms and some smaller specialized organic enterprises.

I’d wager money on it.

lalababa

hurler32 wrote: »

I would think it's more the Rural pub that's finished rather than the urban pub ....the rural pub will be gone like creamerys , Garda stations , post offices etc in rural Ireland ... Fine Gael will pi55 themselves laughing at the rural folk that still vote for them

Alot of the city pubs that are just outside the center are getting hit. Also the clique pubs that cater primarily for the Irish people that live on or v. near that street , the one's where if you are not known they will take a very good look at you. Also the suburban pubs. They are all dwindling.

lalababa

El Weirdo wrote: »

Do you expect the Gardai to clean the jacks?

The gaurds can't even put a new light bulb in their own Jack's or put a few rat traps out.

bigpink

Huge factor is the vibe and a well run house.No scumbags or assholes or drunks them days are gone and then places are going well I can give examples in Limerick where the owner runs a good house

JupiterKid

Don’t get me wrong, I myself may be an alcoholic in early recovery after 8 years of hell but nearly all my alcoholic drinking was done at home, a bottle of voddie with orange consumed before I’d head out to meet mates in a pub for a pint or 2 or dinner with a few glasses of wine in a restaurant. I concealed my heavy drinking - most of the time.

Rinse and repeat when I got back home later. A lot of alcoholics don’t go anywhere near pubs. I think a nice clean, cozy pub with a roaring fire, clean toilets and good food and a bit of live music on certain nights can be an asset to an area.

But let’s face it, most Irish pubs were not like this - they were often filthy kips full of morose extremely heavy drinkers propping up the bar, third world latrines, a severely limited offering of grossly overpriced beers. Those days are coming to a swift close.

The early house also seems to be on the way out.

NinetyTwoTeam

I'm sure they're doing all right or else the price wouldn't keep going up. but after the last price rise i threw in the towel, it's just a ridiculous price for a glass of pissy poison that makes you feel like crap the next day. if you really enjoy alcohol it's too expensive to drink loads in a pub and if you don't really enjoy it why even bother going in at all.
diageo etc just fleece you for something that's 95% water it's a joke. at least if i put a fiver on a horse the nag might win, you get eff all for your fiver in a pub. and my friendly neighborhood weed dealer hasn't put his prices up in years. buying a pint in the pub is for suckers.

BuilderPlumber

Mister Vain wrote: »

The fact that so many people are now into health and fitness has something to do with it too I reckon. Young lads nowadays are more interested in drinking protein shakes than pints of larger. I remember when I was in my late teens and early 20's, people consumed a colossal amount of alcohol. The attendance in work was dreadful as a lot of staff didn't show up on Monday because they were too hungover. That's not the case now.

I find there is a lot of hypocrisy here, and young lads will always love a drink no matter what they say. A lot of people want to show off an image of so-called 'health and fitness' and still drink a lot but are afraid to admit it. I know there are people I would not admit I drink alcohol to. They may well feel the same with regard to me and assume I don't drink when in fact I do. Others hide their drinking when they aspire to play sports and may refrain from alcohol prior to matches but will go for a lot of drinking afterwards. Because of the nature of 'hidden drinking' and not admitting one drinks, a lot of this is done at home and not in pubs especially local pubs. I have never and would never drink on a night before work: cannot enjoy the drink, won't work properly so 2 wrongs will only make a wrong!!

BuilderPlumber

JupiterKid wrote: »

Don’t get me wrong, I myself may be an alcoholic in early recovery after 8 years of hell but nearly all my alcoholic drinking was done at home, a bottle of voddie with orange consumed before I’d head out to meet mates in a pub for a pint or 2 or dinner with a few glasses of wine in a restaurant. I concealed my heavy drinking - most of the time.

Rinse and repeat when I got back home later. A lot of alcoholics don’t go anywhere near pubs. I think a nice clean, cozy pub with a roaring fire, clean toilets and good food and a bit of live music on certain nights can be an asset to an area.

But let’s face it, most Irish pubs were not like this - they were often filthy kips full of morose extremely heavy drinkers propping up the bar, third world latrines, a severely limited offering of grossly overpriced beers. Those days are coming to a swift close.

The early house also seems to be on the way out.

I agree with all this. Heavy drinking is often concealed and done in secret. I posted another comment about the hypocrisy of a lot of people who give an image in public of drinking very little or no alcohol and into 'fitness' (as if being fit and not drinking at all are in some way linked!) but who actually drink a lot more than they let on at home. In pubs and with family and friends, people tend to have a restraint on their drinking and often do not want to look bad in front of people they care about. If a person is drinking while watching a film or TV, they will also be aware of not drinking too much so as they stay tuned into what they are watching. Most heavy drinkers drink at home and often live on their own and have no other hobbies. I as a person who drinks in moderation and always feels drink should accompany other endeavours am lucky. I also do not live alone.

On to your other point: yes, Irish pubs can often be horrible. The amount of dirty, uninspired rural pubs I came across especially in the Southern half of Ireland is amazing and the fact that they have nothing going on in them does not help. I have come across some very nice rural pubs mainly in counties like Roscommon, Leitrim, Sligo and Cavan but I only know of mainly dingy places further south (that are currently open ... sadly a few nice ones I knew are closed through no fault of their own, the owners getting poor health and/or dying). Some pubs are ok if you can only and only want to talk the whole night about the local GAA team. They frankly do not want to know you if you don't know of the local team. Other places are full of mocking individuals who make jokes about other customers in a nasty manner. Other pubs then are full of cronyism and do not welcome potential new customers. All of this contributes to a sense of finding somewhere else to go or something else to do.

kunst nugget

Zebra3 wrote: »

Why? They won’t accept Bitcoin?

No, they slandered him! SLANDERED HIM!!! But he's recorded it on his watch so he's golden and before you ask, no, it's not an Apple Watch because he's a grown up.

Cee-Jay-Cee

Tell me how wrote: »

In the town where I live, the population has increased significantly over last 20 years, there's plenty living within easy walking distance from town centre, there's no shortage of taxis, there are quiet pubs where you could easily have a chat and yet, at 11:00 on a Friday or Saturday night it could just as easily be a Monday or Tuesday. I'd love to have go-pro footage from walking through the streets from the late 90's because the image in my head is that they were teeming with people most weekends. Maybe I'm not remembering it correctly.

We could possibly be in the same town as my home town is the same. In the late 90's early 00's if you weren't out and in a pub by 9:30 on a Friday/Saturday or Sunday night then chances are you wouldn't get in as the doors would be closed as they were packed to capacity. Once you had a 'spot' in your favourite pub/bar you generally stayed there for the night and then headed to a nightclub around midnight.

I don't go out much anymore but these days people don't come out till well after 11 and the pubs are rarely if ever full to capacity.

TBH I don't really give a sh as it no longer effects me, I rarely go out and when I do we generally head for one of the quieter establishments.

[Deleted User]

facehugger99 wrote: »

I was shocked at how much my local charged me for a G&T recently. Apparently if they serve it to you in a fishbowl and stick a few slices of cucumber in it they are perfectly entitled to give your wallet a right doing over.

It's madness.

Blame it on these guys

dubstepper

My parent's local in a Dublin suburb had two floors in the 80s (with a couple of pool tables). I was too young to get in but my dad said it was always busy. By the late nineties upstairs was closed down. Now it can really only fill the bar (about 1/3 on the downstairs floor space).

Ash.J.Williams

dubstepper wrote: »

My parent's local in a Dublin suburb had two floors in the 80s (with a couple of pool tables). I was too young to get in but my dad said it was always busy. By the late nineties upstairs was closed down. Now it can really only fill the bar (about 1/3 on the downstairs floor space).

I remember that too but there's no way most of us could hold down a job these days if that was case

fattymoon

Swanner wrote: »

Everyone's just medicating at home now instead.

The rise in addiction and mental health issues is disturbing.

At least the pub was a social outlet for many, talking to real people instead of strangers on a laptop.

Very good point. Nail on the head. The younger generation coming up will seal the demise of the pub for certain.

Mister Vain

BuilderPlumber wrote: »

I find there is a lot of hypocrisy here, and young lads will always love a drink no matter what they say. A lot of people want to show off an image of so-called 'health and fitness' and still drink a lot but are afraid to admit it. I know there are people I would not admit I drink alcohol to. They may well feel the same with regard to me and assume I don't drink when in fact I do. Others hide their drinking when they aspire to play sports and may refrain from alcohol prior to matches but will go for a lot of drinking afterwards. Because of the nature of 'hidden drinking' and not admitting one drinks, a lot of this is done at home and not in pubs especially local pubs. I have never and would never drink on a night before work: cannot enjoy the drink, won't work properly so 2 wrongs will only make a wrong!!

Ohh many will still have a drink but they don't do it to excess the way young people used to. They generally look after themselves better and are in better shape now. A lot of people are going to the gym now compared to the 90's and 00's. There's a greater interest in nutrition and healthy eating. If you had that sort of lifestyle in Ireland 15 or 20 years ago you would be seen as a bit of an oddball.

DEFTLEFTHAND

I spent Saturday afternoon in a pub and nearly lost all faith in humanity. Big smelly yokels shouting and buckleaping around the place. squaring up to each other and having to be separated, the baraman ignoring the behaviour and not showing the smellies the door.

ohnonotgmail

dubstepper wrote: »

My parent's local in a Dublin suburb had two floors in the 80s (with a couple of pool tables). I was too young to get in but my dad said it was always busy. By the late nineties upstairs was closed down. Now it can really only fill the bar (about 1/3 on the downstairs floor space).

i think i know the pub you are talking about.

whisky_galore

BuilderPlumber wrote: »

I find there is a lot of hypocrisy here, and young lads will always love a drink no matter what they say. A lot of people want to show off an image of so-called 'health and fitness' and still drink a lot but are afraid to admit it.

The 'fitness' scene is very much in your face now, before it was all behind the closed doors of a gym, now every second bastard is jogging in place at lights or in lycra on a bike punishing themselves. It's public flagellation 21st century style.

On the other hand the country has a massive obesity problem, so it's extremes really.

bigpink

DEFTLEFTHAND wrote: »

I spent Saturday afternoon in a pub and nearly lost all faith in humanity. Big smelly yokels shouting and buckleaping around the place. squaring up to each other and having to be separated, the baraman ignoring the behaviour and not showing the smellies the door.

Sounds like badly run pub there is good places in the trade

Ubbquittious

whisky_galore wrote: »

The 'fitness' scene is very much in your face now, before it was all behind the closed doors of a gym, now every second bastard is jogging in place at lights or in lycra on a bike punishing themselves. It's public flagellation 21st century style.

On the other hand the country has a massive obesity problem, so it's extremes really.

Popping roids and hunger reducers while letting on it's all sweat and protein shakes

ANDREWMUFC

Can beat a few bets and pints

[Deleted User]

ANDREWMUFC wrote: »

Can beat a few bets and pints

That sounds like the most grim afternoon imaginable.

JupiterKid

Isn’t it interesting that bookies are almost always located very close to, if not just right next door, to pubs?

CrankyHaus

JupiterKid wrote: »

Isn’t it interesting that bookies are almost always located very close to, if not just right next door, to pubs?

I used to work in bookies. At the time I wondered how so many of the regulars could always afford to be on the lash and betting. Not just on the weekends either.

With hindsight it's pretty clear they were spending all they had there, leaving their family to go without if they had one. Very sad.

[Deleted User]

CrankyHaus wrote: »

I used to work in bookies. At the time I wondered how so many of the regulars could always afford to be on the lash and betting.

Hot take here, they were probably winning their bets!