PUBLICANS in Limerick city walked a regulatory tightrope on Monday as they tentatively opened their premises for the first time in six months.
Local pub owners remain alert to the danger of having to close their doors again, should there be a resurgence in coronavirus cases.
Two weeks ago the Treaty City teetered on the edge of Level 3 restrictions but numbers of cases have begun to ease somewhat, although Limerick is still very much on the Covid watchlist.
“We’re kind of relieved to be getting back to business, but at the same time were a bit apprehensive,” said Aengus D’Arcy, owner of JJ Bowles which is widely regarded as the city’s oldest pub.
He has reduced capacity from around 100 “to about 40 or 50”, which will change the whole atmosphere”.
“It’s kind of good news for Limerick at the moment, but that could change very quickly for the worse for us,” he said.
For the first time since the riverside pub opened in 1794, customers must wear masks entering the premise and while walking to the toilets or smoking area.
Despite the restrictions, D’Arcy remained upbeat, and “looking froward to a bit of craic again”.
Mike McMahon, who runs Mother Mac’s, on the opposite side of the River Shannon, said he’d invested up to €30,000 on making the premises covid-friendly.
After opening the doors at 10.30am, trade was “slow but steady”.
McMahon has installed Perspex screens, created eleven new snugs, and upgraded the air extraction and air handling systems.
“We are moving dirty air out of the premises and clean air in a more efficient manner,” he explained.
But he agreed that the situation remains “very fluid”.
“If I am asked to close again, I will do it without question.”
Donal Mulchay, proprietor of Nancy Blakes and Tom Collins bar, was thrilled to be open again.
“It’s fantastic, and it’s great to see some of our oldest regulars coming straight back into us,” he said.
Mulcahy said he hoped to start booking live music acts in the near future but acknowledged the reopening could be short-lived.
“There’s a possibility we could close again. If we got 24-48 hours (out of this) we’d be locking up and coming back in six months time, but I have to be positive – I wouldn’t have opened today if I wasn’t.”
Vintners Federation of Ireland (VFI) Chief Executive Padraig Cribben said that the general sense from talking to publicans around the country is that they’re happy to be open and meeting their regular customers.
“Publicans are by their nature outgoing people and the pub is more a way of life than a job, so to be closed for so long was very difficult for their mental health.
“For now, our members are getting used to the new normal. Mondays are typically quiet in the pub trade but the novelty of reopening has seen a busy trade in some parts of the country.
“We’ll have to wait until after the weekend to get a proper feel for how customers are responding. Our members have put huge effort into making their pubs safe with proper social distancing and hygiene measures so our hope is the public respond with the confidence to venture out.
“While there is a huge sense of relief amongst publicans to be open after six months, they worry that further closures may occur in the future if, like Dublin, the county moves to Level Three.”
