Publican: Sales fell a third during cold snap

A CORK publican has said his trade took a beating this Christmas due to the adverse weather — with sales down by nearly a third (30%).

Figures released by the Revenue Commissioners show the number of pub licenses has plummeted by 1,300 over the past five years.

Vintners Federation Ireland (VFI) member Con Dennehy, of Dennehy’s pub on Cork’s Coal Quay, said his business was “blown out of the water” by the bad weather. Some 90 pubs in the county did not have their licenses renewed in the past three years.

The lead-up to Christmas is one of the most lucrative times of the year for the bar, which regular draws a large crowd thanks to its olde-worlde decor and city-centre location.

But treacherous roads prompted punters to stay home however, leading to a massive fall-off in business.

“When the snow hit, people just couldn’t move and didn’t move,” Mr Dennehy said.

As low-cost selling of alcohol hits the pub trade hard, he said it was more expensive for publicans to buy spirits from Irish distillers than from supermarket chains.

“I can’t buy spirits directly from Irish distillers for less than the price they are selling it in Dunnes, that’s the reality,” he said.

But Mr Dennehy, who has been in the pub trade for 50 years, said it was a “shame and a disgrace” that some pubs were charging €3 for soft drinks and minerals.

“If I knew there was a designated driver, I would give them minerals for free,” he said. “But mostly they are used as mixers.”

He urged people to visit their local pubs before they “disappear”. “People will wake up one day and the local pub — a tradition in Ireland — will be gone,” he said.

The VFI said this week that the low-cost selling of alcohol in supermarkets could spell the end of the traditional pub trade.