20 years of Ireland's smoking ban — how the campaign came about and how people reacted

Jonathan deBurca Butler looks at the positive effects of this once-controversial move

In the run-up to the smoking ban: then Minister for Health, Micheál Martin with the no smoking sign which he carried around in the boot of his car. Pic: Gavin Browne

Michael O’Donovan remembers the days before the smoking ban. Born and raised above his famous family pub, The Castle Inn in the heart of Cork city, the 48-year-old lived and breathed its smoky atmosphere every day.

“When I came home from school, you’d be hit with the smell and the sight of smoke in the bar. Later on, when I got married, I’d get home to my wife who used to get me to take the clothes off and get into the shower because I used to stink of smoke. Your eyes would be sore and red. There was yellow film on the television set that had to be cleaned every few days. Small things like that. But you wouldn’t have noticed it because you were working in it and you were used to it.”