Towns that have the greatest number of pub closures

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118073623#Comment_118073623

How do you know they were oblivious?

Maybe the lads loved the trendy glamour

enricoh

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118073650#Comment_118073650

In fairness bands and djs were looking for crazy money, most closed in my town for the millennium.

enricoh

A lot of the houses around me would have an Audi n bmw in the driveway. When you've to keep 2 fancy motors going, mortgage etc there may not be a lot left for pints!

whisky_galore

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118073650#Comment_118073650

New Years is usually a big pile of hyped up shyte anyhow.

Capt. Autumn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118073623#Comment_118073623

Name of the village for **** and giggles...

Fr Tod Umptious

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118073714#Comment_118073714

We have a 5 year old Citeron and a 17 year old Fiesta in the driveway, a mortgage, and kids and we don't have much left for pints either.

The thing is the drinking habits of people have changed.

In the 80s my parents drove to the (rural) pub probably two nights of a weekend, and my father went another few nights mid week.

But times have changed, drink driving laws, health awareness, longer commutes and busier days have changed the way people act.

Nothing wrong with it either, just the way of the world.

Tork

The 2008+ recession did a lot of damage too. A lot of people either lost their jobs or sustained pay cuts at the time. Less disposable income and the need to take a taxi (instead of driving) made going to the pub a pricey night out.

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118073855#Comment_118073855

A lot of people in 2008 who thought they were making a temporary switch of meeting in houses with some friends and wine realized they preferred it and never went back to the pub as the main social scene.We also had a lot of young people leave and if they did come back it was often with different ideas about socializing

Covid looks like it might do the same with a lot more people doing their meeting in coffee shops or parks.

Coffee is one thing that every local pub really needs to invest in. A bit of Nescafe thrown into an auld mug served with a look of distain from the barman ain't gonna cut it anymore. Also coffee has a better G.P. than booze

Tork

Maybe the pubs weren't giving the people what they wanted even back then. I have no problem with there being loud music in pubs but it gets annoying when, it's in nearly every one. As soon as they crank the music up to 11, that's the end of any chat you were having and it's now roaring or nothing. I knew non smokers who had more craic in the smoking area because the ears weren't being blasted off them in the main bar.

Stanley 1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118072690#Comment_118072690

Ooops, my mistake

Muahahaha

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118073948#Comment_118073948

+1 on the coffee. For those pubs that have machines they dont seem to look after them with regular cleaning and the coffee can taste bitter as a result. Then other pubs you could go into at 8pm and ask for a coffee and they look at you like you have two heads and then tell you the coffee machine is switched off. The attitude seems to be if you are not here to drink alcohol we dont want your custom.

In my local town there is a coffee shop who began opening till 8pm last January and did pretty well out of it. The owner told me he calls it the Operation Transformation effect- loads of women out power walking in groups of 2s,3s and 4s in the dark evening who will stop for a coffee after their walk. Thats the kind of business a pub could be doing if their coffee offering was up to scratch.

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118080959#Comment_118080959

I don't mind so much if it's a packed pub and they can't put someone on latte duty as pubs are usually running on less than optimal staff for anything more than basic service.

But when that happens in a quite pub it's a bit of a joke

rathfarnhamlad

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058214658/towns-that-have-the-greatest-number-of-pub-closures

Interesting that I came across your thread @Capt. Autumn as I was driving through Mountrath just the other day en route from Dublin to Shannon. The first thing that crossed my mind was "I wonder how many pubs are left now..." I forget exactly what time of day it was but most if not all had their doors shut.

A sorry sight to see & a very different story to the time I stopped in the town in September 2017 after Camross won the Senior Hurling Final. Town was positively hopping & the pubs were packed...

El Tarangu

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118080959#Comment_118080959

While I like the option of coffee in a pub during the day time, I can understand why pubs switch off the coffee machine in the evening - in the time it takes to make one €3 coffee, a barman could have pulled €20+ worth of pints, it's just not worth their while.

Sunny Disposition

Perhpas more interesting than the amount of pubs closing, is why there were so many in the first place. Largeish villages could support 10-15 pubs once upon a time, the amount of alcohol consumption must have been massive.

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118084235#Comment_118084235

I'm pretty sure back in the day it was pretty normal for a man to be a 7 day a week drinker.

Other thing was pubs were very small, service was simply pulling pints for lads at the bar and had little in the way of hygiene standards so it was easy for the publican to run the pub on little or no staff so didn't need to take much in to keep going especially when insurance costs are factored in

Muahahaha

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118084194#Comment_118084194

yeah I get what you're saying but you could walk into the local pubs on Monday to Thursday nights at 7pm and there would barely be 10 people in each of them and the barman would be reading the paper or doing a crossword. Meanwhile the local coffee shop has 12-15 women having a coffee after their walk. Thats business the local pubs could have done but they got usurped becasue their coffee offering is either not good enough or non-existent at all in the evenings. Id completely get them not serving coffee in the evening on a Friday/Saturday night when theyre busy but Monday to Thursdays around here they are dead.

Pubs really missed a trick with the popularity of coffee especially as drink driving hit their business. They chose not to compete with cafes and now most people wouldnt even think of heading to a pub at lunchtime for something to eat and drink, most go to cafes instead. Years ago pubs dominated the lunchtime trade but these days they've literally had their lunch eaten by cafe businesses.

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118084858#Comment_118084858

A lot of publicans and managers I have worked with have a shocking lack of interest in food, drink or anything got to do with the trade.

I find it weird that you would choose that trade if you have 0 interest in trying different beers and spirits, have no time for coffee and don't like going to restaurants.

Why they miss all these tricks is because they never look past their own bar counter and the few ageing men it's propping up

Aurelian

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118084934#Comment_118084934

Most of the traditional Irish pubs are just beer processing facilities. Dark, not particularly nice, poor choice of drink, no coffee, no food. You would t go into them unless it was for pints. The business model seems to be get as many pints into people as possible.

The world and our expectations have changed a bit.

My town is down to 2 full time. 1 part time. Both of the full time pubs have been shut for a few days due to Covid outbreaks in staff in the past few weeks. Would have had 10 pubs 20 years ago.

whisky_galore

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118084235#Comment_118084235

Bearing in mind most would have been set up in the pre-private car era and by and large it was a male pastime until relatively recently. Assuming maybe half the adult male population visited plus half of the adult males within in a radius that could be walked reasonably, maybe up to 5 miles all in a normal week, not counting fair days/Xmas. That's a lot of custom.

Consumption would have to be massive, people drank during working hours too.

Muahahaha

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118084934#Comment_118084934

yeah while there is exceptions to the rule most pubs didnt move with the times and changing consumer demands. They allowed cafes to steal their lunchtime trade and now they are allowing the casual dining sector and food delivery apps to steal their evening food trade as well.

Many seem stuck in the notion that people are going to continue to go in and drop 50 quid on pints and stagger out. That clientele are fast dying off which is why we are seeing pub closures, they didnt recognise or react to a clear changing consumer demand. Its their own fault at the end of the day, they were in the dominant position for food and drink only 15 years ago but they blew it by refusing to change with the market.

timmyntc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118084235#Comment_118084235

I think its more that the cost of living was so much cheaper then. Much less tax, cheaper drink, cheaper wages etc.

You could get by on much less trade, much less drink sold, than you'd need now. Along with the decline in pubs is the decline in small businesses and shops - all down to things getting more expensive (more tax & a bigger civil service).

I think the comparison is starkest if you go to some of the "cheaper" european countries, and look at the multitude of small bars in small towns that all get on fine. They dont have a roaring pub trade with packed nights and people ordering 10+ drinks, they just have lower overheads and a lower cost of living.

saabsaab

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118084975#Comment_118084975

Was told a few years ago no tea/coffees only drink. My partner didn't drink, I would have but had to leave. Pub afternoon wasn't even busy at the time!

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118072883#Comment_118072883

The loss of any unique culture is a bad thing. These local pubs were where people met to chat. The kind of pub you are talking about has been there too, very few pubs never offered food or something else. As for the loud pickup or sports bar, every country with a pub culture has that.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118074417#Comment_118074417

But is that the kind of pub that is dying out? That doesn’t describe the old man pub to me.

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118086070#Comment_118086070

very few pubs never offered food or something else

I would have to disagree there. The vast majority of pubs for years offered nothing but beer and spirits and then some added a TV. Certainly food is not the norm in Irish pubs

Not even a bag of crips?

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118086630#Comment_118086630

Well if you want to be pedantic yes that's food

saabsaab

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118086630#Comment_118086630

Most pubs would have taytos, snacks bars and salted peanuts. Usually for the kids..

cj maxx

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118071579#Comment_118071579

You mean sell beer in McDonald's ?

A non runner in Ireland!

Sunny Disposition

Rural pubs rarely do food, a lot of them only open evenings. In towns most do food, it generally makes sense in urban areas with footfall. Have been involved in a small way with a few over the years, never did much behind the bar, just the business side, but it’s very interesting to see how it operates, when turnover is good/ bad etc.

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118087147#Comment_118087147

I would still disagree with the idea most do in Urban areas. Certainly not in the cities anyway. It's getting more popular alright but in Limerick I would say as many new pubs not doing food as doing food. It is quite popular for craft beer pubs to be teamed up with a near by fast food place though if your hungry

Beechwoodspark

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118073695#Comment_118073695

Yep. I can vouch for that.

I worked millennium eve as a bar man in a “super pub” in the midlands. All staff were demanding big money to work that “oh so special” night and bands/DJs were looking for mad money too

Beechwoodspark

some few thoughts I’d have

pubs need to step up their coffee game.

Most of them don’t have a coffee machine.

Feck it Lads a heaped teaspoon of instant coffee in a chipped mug won’t cut it any more (and hasn’t done for years)

pub food is often absolutely over priced rubbish.

ive worked in many pubs over the years in diff parts of the country, and it was a very rare establishment that did genuinely home cooked fare.

most of them bought in frozen chicken, frozen burgers etc. And pre chopped veg (carrots cabbage even roasties) delivered in plastic bags.

The chips would be the rubbishy processed frozen type. The chef just had to be an expert in reheating or frying

Huge amount of The menus almost all the same.

I don’t see much improvement in pub grub in a huge amount of establishments around the country.

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118099095#Comment_118099095

There is a certain kind of Irish pub food menu that instantly tells me it's gonna be average or poor

se25

Not just Ireland. Living in South London in the Nineties I had possibly 25 pubs /working men`s clubs within 30 minutes walk from my home. Sad to say that probably only 7 or 8 remaining and are hanging on by all appearances. Some people greet the demise of the traditional pub but I have fond memories of great nights and the characters that populated these bars...Sitting in with herself watching Netflix while having a bevy is all good and nice but the social aspect of the local was the highlight of a lot peoples lives and I for one will mourn their passing.

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118099263#Comment_118099263

There were a lot of shops that were clearly once pubs where I lived in SE London.

Most areas just seem to be 1 or 2 "regular" pubs and 1 trendy hipster Antic/Portobello pubco. style pubs huddled round the train station

se25

Nearly all these pubs were " tied houses", rented from the Brewery. Most were very well ran and a good regular trade was key to their viability. Cheaper beer from corner shops, supermarkets, French booze from ferry day trippers all helped to make them unviable. Wetherspoons and their ilk finished off the last of them with the £1 pint. A lot of these pubs had idiosyncratic Landlords who added to the colour of the pub.. Basil Fawlty types with outdated views and a taste for alcohol. Most of these pubs had a very loyal set of regulars..God forbid they would use the The Duke of Cornwall just around the corner.

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118099550#Comment_118099550

Cheap supermarket booze is an even bigger issue in the UK which has legal street drinking an a culture of park drinking on a warm day.

I think the Basil Fawlty types are part of the problem though and it's the same here with a certain type of insular middle aged manager who acts like anyone who isn't a regular is just a burden.They never cultivated new customers and the pubs run out of steam when the regulars get to old or dead.

The regulars themselves don't help with their sense of entitlement and stupid made up rules about "Dave's special seat" or similar crap and acting like a shower of "old grannies"

Ubbquittious

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118084975#Comment_118084975

You mean beer to piss conversion facilities

whisky_galore

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118086070#Comment_118086070

Not really, there are unique cultures that are gone and good riddance to them. I don't think many miss the loss of bull baiting and cock fighting, central to Irish culture pre 1800.

The country is littered with former pubs, every old soak's hangout can't be preserved for posterity, life moves on. If people don't go there anymore, it closes down, they're businesses not charities.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118101133#Comment_118101133

Actually many pubs were probably just run for very little money. A few guys shooting the breeze in a local pub isn’t the same as bull baiting.

alcoholism is a problem but that’s still going to be there in the new fangled pubs.

saabsaab

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118101544#Comment_118101544

I guess it's easier and cheaper at home or someone's house.

Aurelian

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118100164#Comment_118100164

That's a much better way to put it.

uch

Broadway in Wexford had 2 pubs, both are now closed, so 100% closure is pretty high

JP Liz V1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118071083#Comment_118071083

Was it 37 pubs closed in Cork city and county over Covid?

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118110594#Comment_118110594

Well ya most likely as a simple figure. But would it have most as a percentage of total pubs in the area.

Limerick city has had a few but not many and most were earmarked anyway.

How many of these pubs around the country that close during Covid were not already on their last legs or were gone in a few years anyway when the ageing boss retired

cj maxx

Maybe someone can tell me, but Athenry must be decimated. It had the highest ño. of pubs to population iirc. Some only one room shebeens but they must be gone now.

orangerhyme

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118085183#Comment_118085183

There's many factors in pubs' demise: smoking ban, cost, mobile phones, internet, Netflix, health, drink driving.

I still think the cafe-bar idea is good.

In Seville I frequented a tapas bar that was open from 8.30 am til 3am. ("Cafe Hercules" if you wish to search it).

In the morning they did simple breakfasts, coffee, juices etc. Open all day, tapas in the afternoon and evening. Then bar at night.

So busy all day, making money all day. It was on the corner so a great place for the community to meet up.

I wonder if a similar business would do well in a rural town/village. In my own rural village a pub was available and I pondered the concept.

These places serve an important function socially as a "third space", ie somewhere to meet that's not work or home. Social contact, community, belonging are important human needs.

cj maxx

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118110743#Comment_118110743

that has been tried many many times. And always failed. Maybe it’s price, maybe it’s alien to the culture.