Cork pub trade adapts as Guinness prices rise and landmark bar sales continue
Clancys Group operations director Shane Spillane, husband and wife team Cliodhna Octigan Montgomery and Paul Montgomery, and director of sales and marketing Dave Daly at the reopening of a reimagined Clancy’s Bar in Cork City in summer 2025. The pub on Princes Street now features four different experiences to attract customers. Picture: Alison Miles/OSM Photo
You could safely say it has been far from a dry January for the pub trade. The new year had hardly settled when Guinness owner Diageo threw an extra 7c price on Guinness to publicans. You'll soon be spending an extra 20c every time you split the G.
Meanwhile last weekend, the Wilton Bar in Cork changes hands, after well-known publican Paul Montgomery bought the 10,000 sq ft premises, which had been run by the Peters family for the past 36 years. Renovation work on the 'new' Wilton began this week.
It’s the first big pub sale of the year, and comes on the back of the sale of the vast Flying Enterprise complex on Sullivan’s Quay which topped €5m in November, marking the biggest bar sale in Cork and across Munster in 2025.
The pub trade has changed considerably in the past decade, prompting many publicans to call time, with over 100 premises currently for sale in Munster and over 30 for sale in Cork alone. But landmark purchases show many still see serious potential in the licensed trade. After a period of consolidation, The Wilton’s new owner believes that investing millions now makes sense.
“It has been a hard couple of years post-covid, but I saw a big change in the last quarter,” said Mr Montgomery, who runs the Clancys Group stable.
“In my venues in the city, I saw an upsurge in takings. 2025 had a slow start in the city but from August this year it was good, the jazz festival was very strong, and it continued right up to Christmas.
“There’s a positive outlook in the trade. We see it in our bookings and reservations. We love our walk-in trade but bookings are the cornerstone and forward bookings have been very strong.”
Proprietor of the Castle Inn on South Main Street in Cork, Michael O’Donovan, is the president of the Vintners Federation of Ireland, representing around 4,000 publicans nationwide.
News of a 7c price rise by Diageo, the brewer of Guinness and products like Smithwicks, Rockshore, Carlsberg, and Hop House 13 is likely to translate into a 20c hike from many pubs. An unexpected downer after what was a Christmas of positives for most in the city’s trade. “There was a pent-up demand and corporate business in the big urban areas was very strong toward the end of the year," said Mr O'Donovan.
"A lot of companies were out entertaining staff and customers. The cities also have the benefit of universities and colleges bringing in business, which rural pubs don’t benefit from.
“From the experience of the last few years, I find the year broken into thirds, with business growing in each third. Pubs in big urban areas seem to have had a very good final third of the year in 2025, and the same in 2024 and 2023. It’s the first two thirds of the year that are the challenge. And while many urban pubs had a good final third, rural areas didn’t get that bounce. For them it was flat, at best, and for many takings were down on 2024. I fear for those ones. If high footfall isn't coming through, it's inevitable your business won’t survive.”
Michael Droney runs O'Sho bar on Cork's Barrack Street, Crawford & Co on Anglesea Street, and Aye, also on Anglesea Street. While Crawford & Co and Aye saw 2025 turnover "flat", O'Sho on Barrack Street enjoyed a strong 2025 for Mr Droney, with turnover up 18% to 20%.
"At O'Sho we started doing a promo on Beamish at €4.90 a while back. Margins are tighter but Beamish sales have nearly doubled," said Mr Droney.
Keeping up with changing demographics and changing drinking habits is now the challenge going into 2026. Third generation publican Mr O’Donovan said publicans across the country are “in competition with people's front rooms” to get them from the couch to the bar counter.
“Giving people value and experience for coming out is the key. If they have that, they will come out again.”
For pubs serving food, the vat rate on food will reduce from 13.5% to 9% in July and while many Cork bars and restaurants have embraced food service in recent years but grub isn’t the panacea for all; it’s part of a package.
Customer experience and service are now non-negotiables. Grunting bar staff will only get grumbling punters.
Running a bar can require thinking outside the box. When Mr Droney was running Rosie Maddisons on Bandon Road in Cork, he added a sauna for drinkers to work up a thirst. "We wanted to add wellness and added a sauna, and it actually did really well, and the only costs were insurance and wood," said Mr Droney.
Less than 1km from UCC, Mr Droney was searching the sweet spot between attracting both students and local trade. "We tried to split the bar in two - students in the front, and more local at the front. We didn't get the front right. The student bar we could make up to €16,000 for a few months but then lose up to €6,000 a week for the rest of the year. Then when the sauna opened, it clashed with the student business when it came," said Mr Droney.
Rosie Maddisons closed in July 2025 but the premises reopened last month under new ownership as The Sportsman's Arms, restoring its previous moniker.
While the sauna Rosie's failed to build up a head of steam, O'Sho goes from strength to strength. "At O'Sho we have put a lot of focus on the community. We have a great manager Pat Burke, and and things started to come right. We have craft events on Sunday mornings.
"We have started opening by day and have a food partnership with the lads from Tongue Tied Deli from the Black Market.
"We have started a pop-up restaurant on Mondays with Iyers, the former Indian restaurant. (Japanese restaurant) Miyazaki is just across the road and that is a great benefit to us.
"You have to give a bit to get a bit. At Crawford & Co we do a bottomless brunch at weekends, and we do a 'wings Wednesday' with 30c chicken wings, which brings a strong bar."
Bars are continuously adapt their offering to make it more attractive to customers, through price promotions and beyond.
“People want Disneyland - that's what they come out to us for,” explains Paul Montgomery, who started in the Cork pub trade with the now defunct Western Star three decades ago. “People have stressful lives. When they come to a bar, they want to forget their troubles. That's our job.”
January is renowned as a month when drinking habits change, with potential customers often taking stock post-Christmas. Customers continue to face cost-of-living challenges and pricing is key - it will likely be even moreso with Guinness prices set to rise. Mr Montgomery launched a €5 for all drinks promotion for the month of January.
Mr Montgomery’s stable of premises within the Clancys Group aims to reach touchpoints across communities. The flagship Clancys on Princes Street features four different experiences - the Guinness-themed Arthur’s Bar, the 1824 Restaurant, a cocktail lab, and a rooftop sky bar. JJ Walsh’s is styled as a traditional Irish bar on Oliver Plunkett Street. On Marlboro Street is the Latin-themed cocktail bar Mamacitas, which draws a large Brazilian and South American clientele, while an LGBT+ club Wilde is on Oliver Plunkett Street. The Wilton now joins that group.
“Communities in Cork have changed,” said Mr Montgomery. “The city is divergent and we have seen that the business is out there.”
Mr Montgomery closed The Wilton bar on Monday, January 12 and a €1m renovation is underway. The two-storey complex will reopen as a pub, restaurant and live music venue in time for St Patrick’s weekend in March, Mr Montgomery said. Staffing will double to 100 following the reopening. Clancys Group operations director Shane Spillane and director of sales and marketing Dave Daly will play key roles in the €1m refurbishment.
The Wilton is located across the road from the Cork University Hospital and will look to become a destination venue, with a big focus on night-time entertainment and live music. Being a go-to venue for sport is also part of the plan, as well as increased dining options upstairs.
The Wilton is already well known for carvery-type dining. Mr Montgomery aims to retain this, and its ‘local’ appeal but will look to increase menu choices in the below €20 price point “where you have the option to have a meal in 40 minutes”.
“These days, people expect and demand value and we will look at that through the year," he said. "The cost of living is already high. People are drinking more sensibly. They want good value and good food.”
Michael Droney believes more "cohesive" thinking between the trade and local authorities can reap dividends for all. He welcomed the work of Cork City Council's nighttime economy advisor Fiona Collins. He welcomed the increased Garda presence on streets. But he believes a change of mindset is needed to bring more people back to the city.
With his premises on Anglesea Street, Michael Droney also knows the value of events. Live at the Marquee brings in the punters. Zach Bryan at Páirc Uí Chaoimh will be great. Thirsty Cork hurling fans are a welcome boon in early summer. "Anything down the Páirc, there's a great knock on."
"I think the city as a whole could be doing more to bring people in," said Mr Droney. "Drink is a bad word but it doesn't have to be. I'm an alcoholic but I think Ireland has become so anti-drink, it has put a barrier on development.
"Between St Stephen's Day and New Year, the city was dead. If we want to save our nighttime economy, we have to move away from stereotypical ‘drink is bad’ thinking. You can't have a nighttime economy with pubs closing at 9pm on New Year's Eve, which was happening this year. There's a lot of doom and gloom, but there's so much we could do."
Increased prices will put more strain on the industry. Mr O’Donovan said the rising cost base adds to pressure on pubs, amid minimum wage and auto enrolment legislation commitments, and rising energy prices. Sick days remain a huge challenge. “We are forward-facing industry and if one person is out, you need someone else because customers won’t wait to be served.”
Regarding drinking habits, ‘zebra striping’ has been one of the biggest changes, with drinkers interspersing their alcohol intake with a non-alcohol or zero beer between their regular pints. “It’s really noticeable working in the business, across the country,” said Mr O’Donovan.
To make money in this changing bar and entertainment trade in Cork and beyond, publicans must adapt to new drinking habits and new customer demographics. Music, food, sport, service, and even saunas can all be are part of the show.
“The only constant is change. That's the secret to growing volumes and getting people back in,” said Mr Montgomery. “The cheese has changed so the mouse must chase it.”
A collection of the latest business articles and business analysis from Cork.
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