'We've missed you': Pubs get ready to welcome customers back

Publican father and son John and Tim Mulvihill check the lines and the outdoor seating arrangements ahead of welcoming customers to The Red Fox Pub at The Kerry Bog Village on The Ring of Kerry on yesterday. The pub, popular with locals and tourists alike, now features outdoor weather pods to protect against the elements near Glenbeigh in Co Kerry on the Wild Atlantic Way. Picture: Don MacMonagle

“We’ve missed you” is the message from publicans to their customers as they prepare to reopen their doors today - many of them for the first time in 15 months.

Around 4,000 pubs, about half of the total number in the country, are reopening for outdoor service only, with up to 25,000 of their furloughed staff returning to work.