Dan Dooner
There is growing frustration among publicans in rural Roscommon as the restrictions imposed due to the Covid-19 pandemic continue to cause uncertainty in the industry. Both pubs in the village of Loughglynn, Creaton’s Bar and The Village Inn, remain closed, with no sign of imminent reopening.
Creaton’s Bar is at least 130 years old, according to its current proprietor, James Creaton. The bar has been under the family’s stewardship for several generations but has never before faced a challenge quite like Covid-19.
James said the continued closure of small rural pubs has taken a toll on local communities.
“The closure of the rural pubs has been terrible for the locality. Here in Loughglynn there isn’t a pub open in the whole parish! It’s very hard on older people because it’s not giving them a chance to meet up and socialise. There are people who haven’t met each other in a long time,” he said.
James said the lack of social interaction could lead to mental health issues and has called on the Government to give rural publicans a chance.
“I believe the pubs should be allowed to open for at least four hours a day. Most people are so disciplined now when it comes to the guidelines (and social distancing) and rural pubs would be safer (than those in bigger towns and cities).
“There are very few older customers going into pubs serving food right now because it’s mostly where the younger people are. They would feel safer in their own environment with their own corner to sit in,” he said.
James warned that while the spring and summer months have been very difficult for publicans and customers alike, there may be even tougher times ahead this winter.
“With the dark nights it’s going to be worse. I don’t know what we are going to do. At least in the summer you could jump in the car and go for a drive or go out in the garden,” he said.
Martina O’Brien runs The Village Inn with Tom Maloney and she believes a partial reopening might not be viable for some businesses.
“I don’t think it would be viable to reopen for just a few hours a day. We don’t know what’s going to happen, but if the socially distancing calls for one metre it wouldn’t be too bad. If it’s two metres then it would be very difficult because we wouldn’t be able to have enough customers on the premises to make it viable,” she said.
Publicans across the country have been calling on the Government to provide meaningful support for the industry and Martina echoed those sentiments.
“The Government will have to compensate us. What was announced recently does not go far enough (to safeguard the future of the industry).
“I don’t honestly know when the pubs will reopen. We closed down in March and we were teasing each other saying there was no point in changing the clocks forward for summer because they’d probably be back to winter time by the time we reopen. Sadly, it’s looking that way now,” she said.
Most publicans have missed out on the busy summer trade and with September usually a quiet period, fears are growing that reopening in October and November might not be a realistic option for some.
“We’ve missed the best part of the year and if September is as quiet as it usually is, then there isn’t much point in opening in October and November. The longer this goes on the harder it will be for pubs to reopen,” Martina added.
Another consequence of rural pubs remaining closed has been the increase of customers drinking at home and Martina believes this could become an irreversible trend.
“Many people have become comfortable having a few drinks at home and may not be willing to put themselves out to go out in the cold evenings. There’s very little incentive for them to go back to pubs either if they have to talk to people at the other end of the bar or if there’s a deadline on when they have to leave,” she concluded.
