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Phil and Paul Flannery, happy to welcoming customers back to their pub earlier today. Paul Flannery

'It's been emotional': Publicans welcome customers back for outdoor service

The sun was shining as some opened their doors for the first time in 15 months.

SOME HAVE HAD stops and starts, while others remained closed since the first lockdown, but the sun was shining for publicans as they welcomed customers today for outdoor service.

“Mother nature got the memo,” joked Paul Flannery, owner of Flannery’s bar in Limerick City.

“People are buzzing, the weather is obviously a big plus and people are just happy and smiling, meeting friends they haven’t seen in a long time.”

Flannery said there have been many “emotional moments” along the way, like having to close up the bar on the afternoon of Christmas Eve, just 20 days after pubs had been allowed to reopen again.

Today’s emotions were more positive, as he returned to the pub with his father Phil, who he said is glad to be back “bossing everyone around”.

“This morning I rang my dad at 9.30 – he’s 87 – and I asked him was he ready to go back to work. He told me he was and I went to pick him up. I said to my wife that that’s when it really hit home that we’re back,” he said.

“When the first person came in and said ‘can I have a pint?’, it really lifted me to see my dad smiling and meeting customers he hadn’t met in 15 months. It’s been absolutely brilliant to get back on track”.

Flannery said Limerick publicans “got a scare” when they Covid-19 case numbers started to increase as they were worried the government might implement a local lockdown.

“We are just lucky that didn’t come to pass, but that has helped to focus people’s minds that the virus is still there and we need to make sure we don’t let it back in,” he said.

In Monaghan, Diane Wright at The Coach House and Olde Bar in Glaslough, said she has felt like she has been in Spain serving customers in the bar’s sunny garden all day.

“It has been going great, everybody is out with their sunglasses, there is such a lovely atmosphere,” she said. “We’ve been closed for so long, it’s been quite an emotional day, our oldest customer John who opened up the place 59 years ago was there to open it again today.”

Wright said she was able to re-open for two weeks in October but then the country went back into lockdown. 

“It was so upsetting,” she said. “But we have friends who never got to reopen at all. I am disappointed for the other pubs in Monaghan that haven’t been able to reopen today because they don’t have outdoor space.”

She said local publicans have been supporting each other throughout the pandemic as they all struggled with the financial impact of closures. 

“Our bills are still going out, our electricity, our insurance. Imagine, we’re paying insurance and public liability and us not even open. It’s been very hard,” she said. 

Wright also had to invest money to make the outdoor space suitable to welcome back customers this time. 

“During the lockdown we covered over our back courtyard – we call it ‘The Birdcage’ – and we put a lot of money into that but we’re putting money into our new future.”

After a tumultuous weekend in the capital, Dublin city’s bars have had steady business throughout the day and customers are just “happy to be sitting and drinking beer out of a glass again and not having to move around”, said Ronan Lynch at the Swan bar on Aungier Street.

“The last 15 months – 448 days – have been an emotional rollercoaster so it’s a big day for everyone,” he told The Journal.

“And today has been emotional, we’ve had all these boards up to protect the building and today we took them down. This feels like a new start now for the industry.”

He said publicans have learned to expect “curveballs” but they are hoping their doors stay open now.

“With the vaccine levels it’s promising, it feels like we’re getting that bit closer to getting back to normality. There’s always that bit of apprehension but we’re just glad to get back in.”

Over on South William Street, customers have been queuing up to get a seat outside Grogans bar, which has been closed since the first lockdown. 

“It’s a perfect day for it, there is a lovely atmosphere around town and people are just delighted,” said publican Daniel Smith.

“We opened at 10.30am and we were full by twenty to 11, so it’s been great, especially seeing our regulars.”

Smith said today feels like “a real turning point” for the industry.

“We were closed for so long, it feels like a day of hope and victory. This isn’t over by any stretch, but we are on the right track.”

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    Mute Paul Dunning
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    Jun 5th 2020, 8:09 AM

    Hopefully the cases dont spiral . And people still social distance. We also need the economy up and running.and a bit of normality

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    Mute Logan Shepherd
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    Jun 5th 2020, 1:29 PM

    @Paul Dunning: True Paul, and seeing the affect of community spread of the virus, is the best indicator of how soon we get a degree of normality back.

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    Mute finbarr walsh
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    Jun 5th 2020, 9:05 AM

    In your survey 15% would not wear face masks on public transportation! Seriously I can’t figure what goes through some peoples minds

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    Mute CazzoA
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    Jun 5th 2020, 1:26 PM

    Win for Cork people!

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    Mute Anne Marie Devlin
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    Jun 5th 2020, 2:43 PM

    I think this is a big step forward. However, the travel restrictions should just be scrapped. I live on the border of two counties yet I can travel 200 km throughout one county, but only 20 into the neighbouring county. It makes no sense in terms of staying local.

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    Mute BmcG
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    Jun 5th 2020, 2:20 PM

    Plandemic coming to an end soon there will be no second wave

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    Mute Clodagh Nic L
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    Jun 5th 2020, 4:01 PM

    @BmcG: thank you oh wise one

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    Mute Michael Byrne
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    Jun 5th 2020, 4:46 PM

    @BmcG: Does that mean I can take my tin foil hat off now???

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    Mute dowthebow
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    Jun 5th 2020, 4:53 PM

    @BmcG: unless they planned one??

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    Mute BmcG
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    Jun 5th 2020, 5:41 PM

    @Michael Byrne: take your tin foil hat off if you would like your neurons zapped with wireless data while you sleep, rewiring your brain and dampening your senses and leaving you robotic and devoid of sentimentality

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    Mute Liberty Peacock
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    Jun 5th 2020, 9:55 AM

    Brazil reached 3rd highest, of countries not corrupt and not lying about their numbers*

    Correct title

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    Mute Sean Bradley
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    Jun 5th 2020, 10:13 AM

    @Liberty Peacock: Jesus lad what do you know of Brazil? Do a little research to see how corrupt Brazil is. Worse that USA IMO.

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    Mute William Walsh
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    Jun 5th 2020, 3:52 PM

    This in not about a virus anymore. Fianna Gael are trying to find out how far they can go to control the Irish people. We are conforming like puppets on a string.

    The virus is now confined to Dublin while the rest of the country suffers from restrictions of movement which is a violation of our constitutional rights.

    Social distancing was introduced to flatten the curve. (Mission Accomplished)

    I reserve the right to exercise civil disobedience from my freedom to choose in the same way as the women of Ireland chose abortion under the banner “my body my choice supported and encouraged by Varadkar and Harris. Well my freedom, my choice.”

    Time to get people back to work and prevent more businesses going to the wall.

    Protect the elderly and the vulnerable but open up the country again

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    Mute Danny O' Mahony
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    Jun 5th 2020, 2:37 PM

    Disinfected dice. What’s the chances?

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    Mute flamrock
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    Jun 5th 2020, 2:33 PM

    Can’t believe Hollywood is already making a movie about this pandemic.you would think they would wait until it’s over.. “disgraceful.”

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    Mute andy marsh
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    Jun 5th 2020, 2:39 PM

    @flamrock: they always need a sequel……………. the virus fights back

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