The Biddy Early Brewery, Ennis, Co. Clare

My play on the title of that wistful overture by the late Australian singer Slim Dusty to “The pub with no beer” introduces the subject of my story this month. This is the perhaps never envisaged demise of the traditional pub in rural Ireland – and not just in country areas but also in villages and smaller towns outside Dublin and other major cities and centres of population.
Whilst, undoubtedly, trade in pubs in Dublin and the other more populated areas may be down, for reasons reflected below, it is in rural Ireland where the effect of pub closures is at its greatest. This decline has deep implications for the cohesion and sustainability of Irish country life, following on as it does from the wholesale disappearance of the village shop and post office, the local primary school and other local community institution.
Every month here brings news of pub closures as owners, faced with fewer and fewer customers and falling trade, sell up, not necessarily to other aspiring pub owners. Particularly where the pub is located in a town they seek to take advantage of the still buoyant property market here to dispose of their building for redevelopment at an advantageous price, perhaps as apartments for rent. Very often, the pub’s licence to sell alcohol (which may have been held in the licensee’s family for a number of generations) is sold on separately to, say, one of the many new hotels being opened throughout Ireland or, perhaps, to a new nightclub opening its doors in Dublin or another major Irish city or town. I heard recently of one country pub licence being sold to a Dublin nightspot for a figure in excess of €200,000. Not a bad little, tempting, earner where the retiring licensee, perhaps not in the first flush of youth, might be giving thought to income needs beyond pension age!
However, every pub closure is, sadly, one less business contributing to the local economy. What has brought about this state of affairs, in a country so long characterised (rightly or wrongly) as having “the drink” embedded in its culture, its national psyche? Are we heading for a situation where the brewers and suppliers of “drink” will still have, undoubtedly, the ability to so in abundance, but there will be fewer and fewer establishments through which to distribute their products? Hence the title of this story.
Many would attribute the start of the decline of pubs of rural Ireland to the outright ban on smoking in workplaces and public buildings introduced here in March 2005, and subsequently to the impact of recent legislation permitting random roadside breath testing of drivers by the Garda Siochana at any time, night or day. It is largely accepted, however, that pubs have, in the main, recovered from the initial effects of the smoking ban. Most of the trade lost as a direct result has returned, as patrons become used to slipping outside “for a fag”, and at the same time they have availed themselves of the opportunity this presents to inter-react with fellow smokers in the new social “arena” created outside the pub.
No, it is predominantly a fear of being caught “over the limit” during a random breath test, not only at night, but on the way to work (or, as has happened, on the way to Sunday Mass) the following morning that is resulting in less custom for rural pubs. Hitherto, rural dwellers, of necessity, have had to use their vehicles to go to and from the pub, there being no convenient alternative regular public transport to avail of, such as would be found in the cities and bigger towns of Ireland and which would enable pub-goers to leave their vehicles at home.
On the subject of “morning after the night before” breath testing, a recent caller to a local radio phone-in programme suggested that if one was breath tested on the way to work, after a night’s drinking, and an adverse reading resulted, exemption from retribution could be sought (and to demonstrate to the Garda that they had not driven the night before) by producing a receipt for the taxi fare home from the pub. The point was completely missed, of course!
It has been suggested that the risk of getting “caught over the limit” the following morning could be prevented if patrons came out to the pub earlier in the evening, and pubs closed up at an earlier “respectable” hour, giving the drinker more nocturnal recovery time!
However, the “reasoning why” for pub closures does not quite end with the above. More and more people in rural Ireland now choose to do their drinking at home, not only for the reasons cited previously, but because it is invariably cheaper to buy alcohol from the supermarket or off-licence to consume at home (with or without a “smoke”). Also, in new Ireland, many have well-appointed homes complete with all the necessary audio-visual gear, home comforts etc. and choose to stay in and socialise at home. In fact, it has been said that “staying in is the new going out”. A downside of this would be the potential for more drinking to be done at home than in the pub, with younger family members being exposed to alcohol (and drinking as a “normality”) at an earlier age.
Eating out in restaurants is also now more popular here, inevitably drawing custom away from the traditional pub. Therefore, and apart from the impacting legislation, we also have to take account of changing social trends in Ireland when seeking explanation for the decline of the traditional rural, village or small town pub.
I would respectfully acknowledge, of course, that some, for their own reasons, may not regret the disappearance of rural “watering holes”. However, and as an observation, I believe that in tandem with the closure of rural pubs will be the loss of a valuable “breeding ground” for what many, including visitors to Ireland, regard as the very essence of Ireland and part of its romanticism. This is “the craic”, so often fermented by bar room wisdom born of “the grape”. The rural publican (perhaps, in pursuit of his “vocation”) is, more often than not, part of this process, regular customers in the main being friends and neighbours, usually arraigned along the bar.
The closure of rural pubs, or short of this, cost cutting by pub owners to try to “stay above the water” is now starting to have a serious effect on the performance and indeed future development of music in a live setting throughout rural Ireland. Whether it be Country ‘n Irish, traditional, or whatever genre, much of this music has been delivered in rural pubs. With fewer venues to play in, bands and musicians are starting to play less, even to “go off the road”, with a noticeable increase in pleas by others over local radio stations seeking engagements, very often at short notice for an upcoming weekend.
In an effort to attract and sustain custom many publicans are laying on late night transport to take their customers home safely after “a few pints”. Also, in an attempt to address the situation, and with a view to “sustaining the fabric of social networking in rural Ireland”, the government here has suggested that it might be possible to fund an extension of existing “free” rural transport schemes to convey people (particularly those living on their own) to and from local pubs. However, this is not without controversy with “objectors” protesting that taxpayers should not be paying for people to go to the pub! Local taxi operators are also benefiting from additional business, albeit taxis can make for an expensive
night out.
Now, if “Mohammed cannot go to the mountain, how about the mountain coming to Mohammed?” A recent caller to a national radio station here suggested that, perhaps, we should now have “mobile pubs”! After all we have mobile libraries, mobile banks, mobile “chippies”, and we used to have a large number of mobile shops navigating the byways and townlands of rural Ireland. Drinks could be ordered, and the pint of the black stuff would be well pulled and settled by the time the “pub” arrived at one’s door. The “pub” would leave you home afterwards, hopefully, not too late, should the driver be stopped by the Garda for a random breath test! One could literally have “one (or more) for the road” in relative safety.
The well-equipped mobile pub would be able to cater on board
for those wanting to attend to personal comforts during the evening. However, those going outside for a smoke would need to be vigilant in case the pub left without them! It would also take some careful driving to ensure that pints were not spilt whilst traversing the pot-holed and uneven-surfaced roads and boreens of the west of Ireland.
The Irish pub will undoubtedly survive, but not as we have known it? Time will only tell. In the meantime, what are you having?