Publicans baffled and bewildered after government calls time on August 10 re-opening plan

Tadhg Kelly of the Shanty Bar, Ballyfinnane. Picture: Domnick Walsh

Publicans across the country say they are disappointed and bewildered at the lack of clarity given by the Government following the announcement that the re-opening of pubs will be pushed back until August 10.

“We are being left in the dark,” said Ger Devine, a manager at Pharmacia in Limerick.

“We had to plan as if we were going to re-open next Monday. We filled the bar with stock once again and now, if there are more delays, we could have to dump it again. For a small business like ours that could be a disaster,” he said.

Mr Devine says Pharmacia values the health of their customers and staff over anything else.

We were one of the first pubs in the country to go into lockdown. We took the situation very seriously and take the safety of our customers and staff very seriously.

 

After spending 24 years in Australia, Humphrey O’Connor came home to run the Inny Tavern in Kerry. It is a decision he never regretted, saying Ireland is the best country in the world, given the chance, and life is not a bed of roses elsewhere.

The bar is a stop-off for anglers who appreciate the rich fishing grounds for sea trout, and salmon of the area, but mostly the customers are local farmers.

If the delay helps to prevent the flare-up again, an extra two or three weeks won’t matter because “our year is gone down the drain anyway,” Humphrey said.

But regulars are bewildered at the further delay.

Nestled in Mastergeeha, eight miles from Waterville and nine miles from Cahersiveen, the Inny customers are very upset, Humphrey O’Connor said, adding they would never have believed they would have to wait from March 14 to August 10 to be able to get a pint in the large bar.

“It dragged on and dragged on,” he said.

He believes a lot of pubs will not re-open — even in Cahersiveen, a decent size town, there are rumours some of the bars are closing down for good. He also tossed around the idea of letting the pub go himself.

“To get people to come into the bars is a bigger problem than keeping them apart,” he said.

Robbie Crowley owns Callanan's Bar in Cork. He said that was in two minds about opening on Monday, but feels other pubs will struggle because of the decision.

“I was undecided as it was. I had to consider my safety, my family's safety, and of course the customers' safety. I also wanted to wait and see what would happen over the first few weeks, watch how things would go. There is no point in me trying to reinvent the wheel when someone else will do it for me,” Mr Crowley said.

“I do feel for the publicans who are under pressure. But I do understand that is it for people's safety. They could have given more notice, though. Nobody really knows what to do or what’s happening." 

Benny McCabe owns a number of pubs across Cork, many of which have been allowed to open as they serve food, but others will be forced to remain closed for a further three weeks.

Benny McCabe in his smoking room in the Bodega Bar in Cork. Picture: Des Barry.

It’s disappointing, I don’t see the difference between somewhere that serves food and somewhere that doesn’t.

Responding to comments made by Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly, that pubs could “materially add to the possibility of a second wave”, Mr McCabe said: “I think they are basing the evidence on how they have seen rates go up in America.

"But I have yet to see a cluster of cases linked to an Italian pub. That’s because of the culture there. I think Irish culture is much more similar to that in Italy. You wouldn’t see Irish people climbing on top of each other like an American bar,” said Mr McCabe.

“From a PR perspective, it’s probably a good thing for the pubs. There will probably be a spike in cases due to everyone going to house parties. And with the pubs closed, they can’t blame the pubs,” he added.