The slow death of the Irish pub

Are we seeing the last generation of pubs in Ireland?

In 2023, some 6.6 million people flew or sailed into Ireland for holidays. It’s fair to say that most of these people were told at some stage that Irish pubs are the place to go for music and craic (fun). But disturbing figures point to a brutal fact: the Irish pub is going extinct.

In one county alone  - Clare, home of the Cliffs of Moher -  29% of pubs closed their doors permanently in the year 2023/2024. What’s more,  Ennis publican and chair of the Vintners’ Federation of Ireland (VFI) in Clare, Charlie O’Meara, says that many of those that have remained open, are only able to operate on a part time basis.

“If you walk around town at night there are an awful lot of pubs only open for the weekend, there isn’t a living to be made seven nights a week,” he told Owen Ryan of the Clare Champion.

High tariffs on alcohol in Ireland

What happened? People’s drinking habits have changed dramatically over the past few years. Covid lockdowns hit hospitality professionals hard. For many, it was the opportunity to leave the industry in favour of jobs with more reasonable working hours.

Meanwhile, those that remain in the business and run pubs are facing a perfect storm of falling revenue and increased costs. Many pubs that tried to diversify by offering food now in fact find that the costs of doing so have increased substantially.

Alcohol also suffers from the highest tariff rates in the EU.

Consequently, studies show that many pubs – notably those in rural areas – will close forever once the current owner retires. They typically own their premises, whereas the price of acquiring new ones is prohibitive. O’Meara notes that anyone wanting to enter the business would be “laughed at” by banks.

The danger is that the pub is the heart of social activity for many communities. The death of the pub could well suck the life and soul out of many small towns and villages.

The issue is not unique to Ireland, however. France has long being struggling with the phenomenon called villages dortoires, where villages are reduced to acting as dormitories for people that work – and crucially spend – elsewhere.  

(Michael Leahy. Sources: Clare Champion et al. Photo: Denver Saldanha / Unsplash)