The SAD story behind Ireland's failing pub industry

[@thomasblade1]

IWow, wow, wow... I’m absolutely blown away by the response yet again. I put my heart and soul into every video, and seeing this feedback makes all those long days of shooting and editing worth it. Massive thanks to everyone for engaging with this little doc - whether you watched, commented, subscribed, or did all three! I haven’t been able to reply to every comment, but trust me, I’m reading almost every one of them. You’re giving me some really interesting insights, including things I might have missed!

[@gsmith207]

What an awesome doc! Top notch. I’m afraid the States are not far behind. I sub’ed because of I get the work that goes into this plus I love Ireland and a Pint! 🍻 cheers from Maine and hope something changes soon

[@danquaylesitsspeltpotatoe8307]

Its simple theres less drinkers and people who do drink less or at home etc Its the same in most western countries and the world!

[@KP-bq8sr]

Great video my man. Keep up this level of quality content and the sub count will start rolling up.

[@billMiddleton-k9p]

I go to the local pub (Riordans) every night. Have 5 or six pints of Stout and 3 or 4 Jameson Whiskies (no ice) then I move on to the Gin. Cork Irish Gin and tonics. About 4 large ones, and one for the road. I then stagger to the car, and fiddle about to try and open it, and drive; swerve more like, onto the black country roads into the town to the chipper for cod and chips and a batter burger. Then struggle on for the 2 mile drive home.

[@johnogrady2418]

I like your choice of Tuam. I lived in Westport for 2 years, 1962/63 and have many wonderful memories.

[@bighag9773]

You know we're fucked when a passtime known for even the poorest being able to join in is now a luxury.

[@christopher9727]

Don't follow the worldly trends follow Jesus Christ today There is no security or hope with out Jesus Christ in this world come and repent of all sins today Today is the day of salvation come to the loving savior Today repent and do not go to hell Come to Jesus Christ today Jesus Christ is only way to heaven Repent and follow him today seek his heart Jesus Christ can fill the emptiness he can fill the void Heaven and hell is real cone to the loving savior today Today is the day of salvation tomorrow might be to late come to the loving savior today John 3:16-21 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. Mark 1.15 15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel. 2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Hebrews 11:6 6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Jesus

[@benben5847]

@@bighag9773 A lot of those “poorest” that you mention are poor precisely because of the pub. Alcohol companies are ruthless when it comes to pushing their drug.

[@xr6lad]

Pubs have been in decline for DECADES! I know some millennials and zoomers think it’s new and only they have just discovered it.

[@SunofYork]

@CIS101 Isn't that communism ?

[@SunofYork]

@CIS101 All the first world has socialized medicine. Only the US leaves their sick to die in the gutter.

[@COOLOCKER]

People simply cant afford a night out anymore. We now have the working poor in Ireland which seemed like a crazy notion no more than 20 years ago. Its a hard decision for many in Ireland today to either eat or pay the bills.

[@thomasblade1]

Yes, fair point. I think if I had time to do interviews on the street, a lot of people would say this.

[@Adam-zh4hm]

This is why I get annoyed when people say "Ireland has the largest GDP per capita". When it's actually overinflated due to foreign businesses. The Irish don't see that money

[@125ordie2]

Theres a general election coming up. A change from the old parties to one thats focused on equality of wealth among Irish people, as opposed to importing tenants and cheap labour for the benefit of a few, is whats needed.

[@roymunson1]

​@@Adam-zh4hmit's all smoke and nirrirors and said corporations get to avoid about 70% of the tax they'd have to pay if they were in the USA. Not only that, but Ireland won't even accept tax at the higher rate from them. Over 9billion they handed back to apple when the EU said it was irelands money.

[@deniswatts4574]

Exactly. You have to go to the credit union for a loan just to go to a family wedding these days..

[@darev6780]

I went to a pub in Dublin city centre last week. €16.80 for two bottles of Corona. Won't be doing that again.

[@mattg5878]

Wow. Just wow

[@sionnachog894]

Went out with my son, his wife and my daughter and my wife. We had two drinks and I spent fifty quit. Who can sustain that , maybe Zuccerbug or one of those gobshites!

[@oppamaclare]

@@sionnachog894 Zuccerbug - 😄

[@TheA8lee]

And for point of reference, what's the minimum wage over in Eire?

[@darev6780]

@@TheA8lee currently it's €12.70 per hour

[@markerichannelly]

The pub is basically the only thing Ireland has going for it. Without a cheap pint in a friendly pub it's just another rip off country with shit weather, expensive housing and eye watering taxes. People say we're the friendliest... Yeah yeah... Imo that's vastly overblown and there's plenty of friendly folks abroad.

[@jimbobjimjim6500]

I have been abroad....we are the friendliest and most human..... by far...... The ice cold, phony, sociopaths, i met in canada was a real eye opener...

[@billyflanagan9657]

Your right I hate it here ireland is a communist country

[@kevinbarry71]

Harsh

[@deaddocreallydeaddoc5244]

@@jimbobjimjim6500 I am American. Half of my distant cousins are in Canada (originally French Canadian). I have been shocked to see Canadians become so politically nuts and self-destructive.

[@Lex_Lugar]

@@jimbobjimjim6500Canadians are pretty weird. Calling yourself the most human is quite pompous. You’re more human than indigenous tribes in the Amazon. You haven’t travelled enough to say that.

[@Geraint3000]

Love this documentary. I live in the UK and when I started going to pubs around 1987 a pint of bitter was just under a pound, and when it hit a pound people were outraged! At the same time, a 4 pack of Kronenburg 1666 was £4, so a essentially a pound a can. Those cans have barely increased in pricing whereas the pints sold in a pub are now the same price as they are in Ireland. Add to that only a quarter of people in their 20s now drink alcohol it's been a grim time for pubs here. It's very sad to see closed pubs - even the ones you never went into. Everyone needs a place they can go where they can feel at comfort and at ease.

[@EvadeModsRGH]

It’s genuinely the cost. I’m 23 living in Dublin and my friends and I simply cannot afford going out for a few pints

[@sionnachog894]

Priced out of the market.

[@Art-is-craft]

You can go out for a few pints but not a night out.

[@magnol1a_]

just get smashed before going for cheap lol and only have a few at the bar

[@thanksleft]

By your Pic I can tell you're pure irish...

[@jerrybarnes6611]

A sure God love ya, what hardship

[@somethingsbrewingIRL]

On paper 70-80% of Ireland's pubs may be independent, but why then do they all serve exactly the same drinks, from Malin to Mizzen? The reality is that 90% of Ireland's publicans are so beholden to two massive industrial drinks companies, Diageo (Guinness) and Heineken, that they have forgotten how to run an independent business. Pubs are ultimately retail businesses and if every business in the street, the town, and across the country is selling exactly the same products, they have a very limited basis on which to compete. The resulting lack of competition is going to mean that the less well run and financed operations simply going to disappear because they have nothing to offer or to attract new customers, and their overheads will kill them. If you really want to know why Ireland's pubs are in steep decline, ask Diageo and Heineken, and you might call the CCPC while you're at it (but don't expect an answer!). Additionally, excise duty is paid at point of production by the brewery, it doesn't come off the price of a pint charged by the publican.

[@premierfuncasino]

Finns Borrisoliegh Tipperary serves mostly locally brewed beers from a local brewery..it's amazing & a cosier pub you will not find

[@Percept2024]

Exactly , it is ONLY on paper.

[@lejimmy]

100% right! You go anywhere and you get the same mass produced macro brews. What's the point in buying a lager on tap in the pub when you can get virtually the same produced from a supermarket for a fraction of the price? Guinness is different - despite their best efforts nothing compares to a properly poured pint of guinness in a pub. It baffles me why ireland doesn't embrace cask ale. I think it suits the climate better - served not ice cold like continental lagers, but slightly chilled. It also lends itself nicely to showcasing irish independent brewers. They can all produce cask versions but there are virtually no pubs with the equipment and know how (and client base?) to sell them.

[@Number69]

The smaller brewers would not have the distribution to reach national level, at most they could offer a few local ones. Most people dont want beer they have not tasted and money comes from regulars outside tourist areas

[@pio4362]

That's dog eat dog capitalism, lad. The people who own the smaller breweries sell out to the multinationals and are not shamed nor prevented from doing so.

[@fraseraitken1837]

in england the real pub ended in 2007 or soon after. After then the way people used pubs totally changed. People used to be in 3 or 4 nights a week and everyone knew each other. It was integral to the community. All the young lads had a local. Now they are mainly either restaurant type establishments or town centre type bars that people use on a weekend. All part of the war on the working class. We’ve basically been run by joyless arseholes for 30 years.

[@swamirivers980]

Please let me quote you. I've been out of UK 40 years, so thanks for explaining.

[@Hurricanehamo]

I wonder how a smoking ban will go down over there. It was a bit of a pain in the arse here, but has it's pros. In Belgium they have smoking sections with good air extraction in bars. Outright ban in ireland.

[@fraseraitken1837]

@@swamirivers980 feel free mate

[@christopher9727]

Don't follow the worldly trends follow Jesus Christ today There is no security or hope with out Jesus Christ in this world come and repent of all sins today Today is the day of salvation come to the loving savior Today repent and do not go to hell Come to Jesus Christ today Jesus Christ is only way to heaven Repent and follow him today seek his heart Jesus Christ can fill the emptiness he can fill the void Heaven and hell is real cone to the loving savior today Today is the day of salvation tomorrow might be to late come to the loving savior today John 3:16-21 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. Mark 1.15 15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel. 2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Hebrews 11:6 6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Jesus

[@pointsoflightradio9785]

Add to that the British government's immigration policy of the last half century. They've primarily been bringing in immigrtants who's religious beliefs prohibit the consumption of alchohol There's also been a government mandated social change. Guys & girls use to go to the pub to meet each other. However governments have been pushing the woke agenda. Flirtation by a guy is considered harrassment. As a result young men would rather stay home and play video games

[@tommolloy1216]

For me, the death knell of pubs was New Years Eve 1999, when pubs charged their customers £50 just for walking in the door. That bare-faced gouging was never forgotten nor forgiven and it was then that Irish people started drinking at home, two decades before Covid.

[@sionnachog894]

Yea, that was pure shite.

[@umbro12]

They'd be empty, or was that including drink

[@sionnachog894]

@@umbro12 no drink

[@stephman02]

So did you buy a pub and take over the industry with cheap prices and great value for money ? Where’s your pub at ?

[@sixtentore8655]

We don't need help from the government, we need the government to stop screwing the pubs with all those taxes and regulations. Not even a well paid engineer can afford to regularly go to the pub

[@LilyGazou]

👏👍

[@matthewcahill4475]

Aye 13% vat is part of the issue

[@sionnachog894]

Especially the regulations they are off the wall.

[@turnpiketumbler8938]

The big one for me, is the price of a pint. A pint shouldn't cost more than €5. Anything more and the product, simply is not worth it!

[@timosullivan5722]

Agreed and every price rise that comes throw it onto the customer seems to be the way

[@Yippekiayymothertrucker]

Should be 3e or under

[@stephenallen4635]

​@@timosullivan5722in many cases theres no other way. I was talking to a pub owner 3 years ago and even then he told me he had to sell a pint of guinness for more than 4.70 to turn a single cent of profit. Now three years later they've upped the tax again and diageos raised its profit margins

[@turnpiketumbler8938]

@@timosullivan5722 It's crazy. Before COVID in my area, the cost of a pint was between €4.50 - €5. I thought that was starting to get a bit pricey. Now it's between €6 and €7.20! It would want to be a flaking pint for that price. Bar food has gone through the roof too! It's gone to the stage where, I'm turning back pints, and telling the bar staff to pour me another one. The same with bar food. I hate to be this person, but it's gone too dear now to be accepting shite!

[@benben5847]

@@turnpiketumbler8938 Don’t be sorry, why would you be sorry to not be silly with your hard earned? Bars have been ripping customers off for decades.

[@SergioMach7]

I have noticed a correlation between pubs closing, the price of going being too expensive, and how the Irish public have become so angry about everything in recent years. The pub is made as a social hub, and if you make that something unaffordable, then the social life in Ireland dies. Loneliness becomes worse than it already was. And when so much negativity is in the news, and you can't vent about it with friends in the pub, then it's going to build up from within. I would hate to live on an island where wetherspoons is all that remains simply because its the only affordable option.

[@eisirt55]

Agreed !

[@kenrehill8775]

The Irish have always been angry, that’s got nothing to do with closing pubs.

[@benben5847]

@@SergioMach7 There are much healthier social hubs than pubs where people are encouraged to spend exorbitant amounts of money to take an extremely additive drug in liquid form. A drug that fills up ER’s in hospitals every weekend sometimes causing life changing injuries and straining the health services and police services too. And don’t get me started on the social problems it causes. No, the demise of pub culture is a very good thing. Get into a gym or sports club, a book appreciation club, hill walking club etc. there are much better ways to spend one’s time than throwing your money and health away in a pub.

[@benben5847]

@@kenrehill8775 I do agree that a lot of Irish people have a bad temper. I’ve noticed the same trait in a lot of Scottish and Northern English too. Maybe it’s a geographical thing, the ever changing weather 🤔 I really don’t know why.

[@kenrehill8775]

@@benben5847 ever changing weather? It just rains, there’s no change.

[@grady4757]

Great presentation, Thomas. A lot to think about here. I’m American and worked at Mary Ann’s Pub in Castletownshend during the summer of 2001 when the economy was humming. It was a fantastic experience and shaped my understanding of what a true community pub actually should be. Thank you for this. Instant subscriber and I will look forward to your future videos. I hope the Irish government takes note of how difficult it now is for people to enjoy these treasures and support their local pub.

[@juanleahy2202]

Very well said.

[@batcollins3714]

Its all about greed and taxation. €6.00 for a half litre of water that contains 4% alcohol is the end of the Irish pub. But the same amount from a supermarket is just over €2.00. Thats the real reason.

[@funnyman8691]

100% , why Jameson is cheaper in Spain than Ireland? ( cost of shipping etc) Taxes are killing everything.

[@ursus9104]

In Sweden you have to pay between €7.50 - €9.00 for a beer in a pub so you can't afford a night out as often as you used to. Times are changing all over Europe.

[@marcusmaher-triskellionfil5158]

Cost of living. I live in Barcelona, people don't drink pints here nor would they pay €6 to €8 for a drink. An average 'Caña' (30 ml) is €1.70, seriously, the cost of things in Ireland is where you'll find the source of the problen...often led by disastrous economic policies by government for the few at the expense of the rest.

[@PasqualeDeRosa-n1v]

Don't you mean 300ml.?

[@RB-NZ2]

Paying upwards of 300 grand to store a few bikes tells you all you need to know.

[@barrycreed9886]

It's all relative. Salaries are lower in Spain.

[@nar2cc]

@@RB-NZ2 Hear hear! I heard that on the radio, outrageous!

[@PasqualeDeRosa-n1v]

@@barrycreed9886 1.70 Euros for 30ml is just under £34 a pint.

[@WARDE2000]

People cannot afford to have a night out anymore. Everyone is snowed under with mortgages the taxes on alcohol is crazy. Cost of living in Ireland is crazy.

[@Flaggyt]

Stop feeling so ffing sorry for yourself. There are tons of other things to entertain yourself nowadays. This happened all over Europe in the last 100 (200?) years. You are just a bit late to the party (as per usual 😁)

[@paolozmm]

The industry has gotten lazy. Food served in pubs is below par and too expensive. so many pubs are filthy too. Just walk into most pubs and the toilets are filthy. Completely manky. Go into Hogans on Georges street. absolutely filthy toilets in the basement and they're charging mad money for a pint. I refuse to pay premium costs when they wont even clean the manky smell from the jax. Its disgusting. The chain owned pubs (Press up group etc) have way less character but are at least making an effort to be clean and serve above average food. no coincidence that these are the ones that are surviving, if not expanding.

[@chris9650]

Come to belfast and visit the toilets in bittles bar. You will get a great smell there. And dont ask the barman for a soft drink.

[@nonotorious1467]

The smell is thanks to the smoking ban and you can't convince me otherwise.

[@TCC00]

@@chris9650nah bittles is a kip

[@feargal2433]

Exactly the kind of pub I'd go to to avoid people like you.

[@kenrehill8775]

Irish food is shite, but they think it’s great.

[@stephenmcinerney4523]

What wasn't mentioned is how drink driving laws almost zero tolerance now, has had most effect on rural pubs.

[@JuicyDry]

this 100%

[@redeyedmongoose2963]

Drunk drivers should lose their driving privileges, pure and simple

[@KevinLyda]

The pubs have known this for decades and yet alcohol-free options are incredibly limited.

[@MrHellweasel]

@@KevinLyda But why would you drink alcohol-free beer? It doesn't even taste good. Might as well have a water at that point no?

[@KevinLyda]

@@MrHellweasel Not in my experience. And I think this attitude kind of makes my point.

[@frankieking1941]

Excellent video, and very fair to all. Pubs are very important to who we are, and how we live. They are not places we go to get drunk, we go to meet and socialise, exchange ideas, celebrate family and sporting events. They are no longer where you go to “forget about life for a while” (Billy Joel)

[@ultravassal913]

I constantly turn down offers to go to the pub because I can’t afford it. The Vintner’s Federation of Ireland have ruined the pub. During covid, the VFI and ibec were trying to force people back into unsafe workplaces on terrible wages and now they want sympathy. The VFI had zero sympathy to the people they immiserated by doubling the cost of beer in supermarkets. The minimum alcohol pricing strategy which was lobbied for by the VFI and carried out by FF/FG doesn’t even create more tax-it was a licence for supermarkets to make double the price on a can/bottle of beer. And it was shown to NOT reduce drinking in Scotland, where it was introduced before Ireland-it has left people who were chemically dependent, much worse off. Moreover, Ireland’s alcohol consumption has risen since the minimum pricing has gone through. I will now avoid a pub if I see a VFI sticker on the door. We need to address the death cult of neoliberalism and austerity in this country. We’re slowly dying because of a terrible healthcare system, a manufactured cost of living crisis, and landlordism. Our own government spent millions to try to NOT accept the €13bn tax Apple owed us. We’re promised every day that our low tax haven status will lead to a better society and that we need to just shut up and take the austerity. But in the meantime we can blame immigrants for the mess our own nasty neoliberal government’s actions.

[@thatsthejobbb8587]

@@ultravassal913 the multinationals should be forking out for the international workers they ship in and the national infrastructure they use. Our easily gained citizenship has been part of the package offered by these conglomerates. Prostituting our state to bulk their profits while neglecting citizens and national infrastructure. Nowhere else in the world bends over like Ireland does!

[@johnlong6010]

Well said but I would disagree with dying because of a terrible healthcare system , its the exact opposite and people need to ask when there health problems started and im sure one thing will become apparent and thats freebies from the healthcare system 😉😉

[@LaurenceOConnor-fg4dk]

"Chemically dependant" me bollix, people choose to drunks. Personal responsibility, personal responsibility.

[@FolkloreIreland]

I'm a young Irish person and I haven't drank at a pub in years. It's a mixture of things, affordability, more people not drinking alcohol, other things to do.

[@sionnachog894]

good on you , you are msiing nothing

[@Art-is-craft]

Alcohol consumption has not decreased only social consumption.

[@CT99234]

You are quite right. It cheers me up when i see my kids generation not wasting hours and hundreds of euro in a pub.

[@Art-is-craft]

@@CT99234 Would it not be better if they wasted money but got to socialise rather than sitting at home play games and watch trashy internet content in stead of girl friends and boyfriends.

[@pmtreacy10]

Wrong. He is missing speaking with some elders of the community.... wisdom is not being parted with

[@gcgopro6912]

I am a 64 year old Brit and a lot of my best memories are from time spent in pubs. A pint of Best Bitter in my teens to the Irish pubs in Munich where I lived in the nineties. A soon as I taste pint of stout the memories come flooding back. Cheers!

[@botmfedr1m291]

If your best memories are from pubs… that’s a very sad story. Considering the many more options this world has.

[@redeyedmongoose2963]

@@botmfedr1m291 you got that exactly right… my best memories are thepub memories, so you’ve basically been a drunk all your life

[@kwaichangcaine8234]

I have great memories of drinking bitter and steak and ale pie in Sinclairs pub in Manchester . The English pubs are great too

[@sionnachog894]

Good luck to you! We don't have 'bitter' in Ireland though, as far as I know.

[@sawahtb]

Drinking alcohol is quite honestly very bad for your health. Same with cigarettes. You don’t benefit one bit from hanging out in smokey bars drinking booze. Maybe if you could go out and drink non alcoholic beverages and enjoy the company and make music, “Pubs” could exist in a different form. Tobacco and alcohol have been a way for big alcohol companies and tobacco companies to get rich, and provide nothing useful.

[@tubecated_development]

Pub bands sound worse without a skinful.

[@mx248]

​@@tubecated_developmentAll the more incentive to get better, yeah?

[@tubecated_development]

@@mx248 The bar makes many times more than the tickets. The landlord owns the bar. The answer is simple maths.

[@davebased5919]

@@tubecated_developmentyou’d have to be sober to know that

[@Matti-iu2eb]

My parents visited Ireland 20 years ago and to this day my Dad's face lights up when he remembers the Irish singing songs telling theirstories and dancing in the pubs.

[@kevinhickey3515]

Like everything in Ireland......screw the public at all costs.

[@beckyzwhite]

It’s the same in England. Pensioners will freeze this winter while the govt. sends billions to Africa and Ukraine.

[@christopher9727]

Don't follow the worldly trends follow Jesus Christ today There is no security or hope with out Jesus Christ in this world come and repent of all sins today Today is the day of salvation come to the loving savior Today repent and do not go to hell Come to Jesus Christ today Jesus Christ is only way to heaven Repent and follow him today seek his heart Jesus Christ can fill the emptiness he can fill the void Heaven and hell is real cone to the loving savior today Today is the day of salvation tomorrow might be to late come to the loving savior today John 3:16-21 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. Mark 1.15 15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel. 2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Hebrews 11:6 6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Jesus

[@MeYou-yz2yz]

@@untitled2264 Starmer has. People get imprisoned for mean tweets all the time under his regime.

[@Dilley_G45]

​@@MeYou-yz2yz yep no more free speech just like russia or canada

[@TheChivasRegal]

Multinational companies are the only first class citizens in Ireland.

[@SeanehKelleh]

10 minutes and somehow completely ignores the fact that publicans, via their reps in the LVA and the VFI, have allowed a duopoly of breweries dictate what is sold nationally for decades, have completely refused to change anything, refused to try and offer more choices fo consumers, refused to support local producers and suppliers instead allowing Diageo and Heiniken beat them down with cartel practices and pricing. The fact that if a man owned pubs each side of the border in Newry and Dundalk the price he'd pay for kegs of Guinness in both would be massively different, with zero reason other than publicans allow them to get away with it, is a joke. The same truck delevers the same kegs from the same depot in Dublin but when it crosses the imaginary border it somehow loses value and cost?

[@basicconcepts1d]

There are many publicans in Donegal who go into Derry to purchase Alcohol and Tobacco. They fill up with cheap petrol and buy their weekly shopping while their at it.

[@grammar_shark]

@@basicconcepts1d *they're

[@WrongThink_]

@@grammar_shark I bet your parents are so proud of you.

[@grammar_shark]

@@WrongThink_ My parents are incredibly proud of me. Why wouldn't they be?

[@699JBW699]

@@grammar_shark because you're a smug asshole?

[@seanm8761]

As a publican and shop owner that’s recently closed I don’t fully agree with this. Yes the culture around drinking has changed but the price of going out is extortionate. The price of a pint was 4.60 nowhere near the 5.60 mark. You’ll need to remove city(or hotel bar) pricing to get a true reflection on a rural pub case study. Cost of doing business is crazy. I can fully understand that people can afford to go out. It cost €50 for a taxi from my local town home. Add food to a night out and you’re looking at spending €150-€200 for one night. It’s difficult to justify spending on a social experience when you have kids or bills to pay. Probably the hardest hitting factor for rural country pubs is the dwindling population. A pub can still scrape by clinging to birthday parties and big events but day to day(or weekend trade) is gone. It’s near impossible to get planning permission in our village. It took a family member of mine 7 years to start construction. Our village went from 370 inhabited houses down to 130 since the late 90’s this combined with less children in each family has left rural Ireland almost barren. It’s not the pubs it’s the shops, GAA and community groups that are endangered. If you look at businesses in towns closing and if they are replaced it’s mostly charity shops(in the large Mayo town closest to me anyway), it wouldn’t be considered a great indicator for the future of our country. On the consumption trend of alcohol I can having owned a pub and grocery say there is a lot more drinking at home vs going out. Drinking in a public setting that’s social and there’s someone looking after you is far safer than the level of alcohol being drank at home. With Covid I have seen people who would have drank a few pints or cans switch to whiskey and vodka. The social aspect is gone and the dangers far increased. Maybe I’m biased after recently closing but I think we’re loosing the heart and soul of our rural communities not just the pubs. 20% isn’t the true number of pubs closing we fought to keep the doors open for the last 15 years how many more are on the same line. When we look back in 20 years will we see national schools and GAA clubs having closed at the same rate? It’s sad to see and hard to accept but Ireland is not the country it once was.

[@johnbrennan7764]

Biased or not you are completely right in your summary, of course the drunk driving being enforced now relative to the old days is a big factor in rural areas.

[@sionnachog894]

I have seen , through a relation the madness of owning a pub, with drink companies upping prices every few months, fire regulations and hygene regulations costing a fortune, not to mention VAT and building taxes or even the price of upgrading the building . Then you have scammers slipping in the toilets, drug taking in the toilets, (some) travellers causing fights, and it goes on. My relation got out of the pub business, got a 9to5 job and is a much happier person.

[@TheA8lee]

Pretty much the same story across the Western world mate.

[@ChrisIrving-f7k]

I’ve cut a few corners. I now drink in my car😔😇

[@ChrisIrving-f7k]

I would Reno my business serve affordable food and drink But even here in Canada the price of everything has sent people running. I actually feel sorry for restaurant owners. The cost of staying just in business is so hi

[@ceparksromanceharps]

Will be coming back to Ireland soon. Will be sure to visit more pubs. What I learned is the pub is more than having a drink; it's about socializing with your neighbors and friends. My Irish friends took me to pubs in the country, where we each performed. I sang the Irish song "The Maid of the Sweet Brown Know". We offered the microphone to the local people; they sang great Irish songs. Everyone had a grand time. If this part of Irish culture dies, it will be a bad thing.

[@jgdooley2003]

This tradition is now dead.

[@declanmckeown323]

This is not just a Ireland problem! Same story in the states with dive or local bars.

[@RobMcGuirk]

hahahah what a line - "Tuam has lost half of its pubs and now theres only twelve left" ... ONLY TWELVE!!!!!!!!

[@daithideburca98]

Athenry which is a smaller town once had 20 pubs my grandads was one, Towns with Marts usually had lots of pubs as they were market towns that had an influx of people

[@jgdooley2003]

@@daithideburca98 Stricter drink driving laws mean that the days of drinking immediately after getting your livestock sold are over. Also factor in the rise in livestock being collected directly off farms and the rise of cashless payments for their products and modern farming no longer is a place for heavy drinking as it used to be. Market day is no longer the big social occasion it once was. Similar applies to many sectors which tolerated working time drinking and boozy lunchtimes in the past but no longer do.

[@turbomcg1021]

The video showed the ones that closed - to be fair they all looked like dumps.

[@sionnachog894]

Skerries populuation was 3k and had 16 pubs now it is 12k with 6 pubs!

[@kingcompilations5500]

This is excellent for any channel, nevermind a channel with 449 subscribers! Keep up the brilliant work

[@Kodakcompactdisc]

493 now

[@thomasblade1]

Wow, you have really made my day with a comment like that. It is my goal with this channel to produce quality work and treat every story with the dignity and understanding it deserves. These edits take days upon days of filming and editing. Receiving feedback like that makes all that hardwork worth it and pushes me to not give up. Thank you!

[@bonzodog6872]

The pubs in temple bar aren't closing they are coining it in with a seemingly endless stream of tourists to entrap into paying 10 quid plus a pint. I would guess that 95% of them never set foot in Ireland again after being stung

[@sensatovideos]

Incredibly well put together video, as an outsider this is super interesting to learn about.

[@rhidiandavies1991]

When i was a young lad in West Wales, there were 4 independent pubs in my village. 2 were rugby clubs, one a working man's, and one an inn. Now the inn is a privaye home, one of the rugby clubs was knocked down to build 4 cramped terrace houses, and the workies, which my grandad was the secretary for, for years, is a mostly disused wreck. Only one rugby club remains. Really sad. Biggest thing for me is just the crazy cost of a beer these days. When I started going to the pub as a young lad, it was £2 a pint, £3 if you were drinking fancy stuff, in 20 years it's got to the point that youll struggle to find a pint for under £4.50. Most likely, you'll be paying upwards of £6. When you can buy a decent bottle of wine for £8-12 which you can take home and enjoy with some mates, who can justify spending £24 on a round of drinks down the local?

[@sionnachog894]

Dead right , who needs it.

[@Weegie2]

I was in Corofin in 2005 and was astounded at the number of pubs along a single street. I took a picture of it for a laugh so it's no surprise to see far fewer. In years gone by, the local drunk didn't have the whole world looking at him being a pisshead on Facebook forever. Today's world is far harsher on the weird and the outsider. Who wants to be that person these days?

[@RebeccaTurner-ny1xx]

"Today's world is far harsher on the weird and the outsider" depends on the definitions. People with disabilities or LGBTQ+ people are no longer routinely mocked, beaten up or denied jobs.

[@PatsyConnaughton]

Is that Corofin in Galway or Clare? Two more pubs have shut this year in the Clare one.

[@Weegie2]

​@@PatsyConnaughton yes, in Clare, where the youth hostel was (or still is)

[@nuadaotee]

The Irish pub won't die, it will just be less prevalent in Irish life. I hope it turns into a social place where you can have a real conversation with someone, where everyone isn't drinking themselves to death. Alcoholism is s*** craic and thankfully the new generations are well informed.

[@A23ness]

Exactly 👏 and no harm that we have alternative options to socialise and spend our free time without drinking these days!

[@sionnachog894]

The women are going to wine bars nows in their finery and getting shitfaced...what a turn around!

[@Aaron78888]

True, plenty of other things to do to socialise rather than getting drunk 3-4 nights a week, I have a drink problem that I’m battling and the rising prices are helping me and many others kick the addiction, it’s poison simple as

[@oscarslife5497]

Same happening in Scotland, I think its because the pubs are all modernised soulless grey and brilliant white places. Most are owned by breweries not landlords too which kills also kills the soul of the pub.

[@sionnachog894]

English/Scottish pubs are even worse than Irish ones, with gaming machines and juke boxes , football on the telly and (apologies in advance) shit weak beer and with the atmosphere of a wet corner in February.

[@grosuciprian]

oh no the breweries sell their own product that they make while cutting the middleman to get better prices to consumers, how dare they!

[@Bozebo]

But on that point you do have some places with a bit more soul opening up now and again to replace them.

[@sionnachog894]

Thats not the way it works in Ireland, but pubs are festooned with TV's and loud music and bloated with football bores.

[@michaelmcloughlin3127]

Adapt or get left behind. There used to be 4 pubs in our small village and only 1 remains. That pub upped their game and does amazing food service, good enough to get passing trade. The days of surviving on selling drinks and Taytos to regulars are over

[@michaelcoyne3700]

The irish state want us to live in a puritan society where we cannot drink, smoke and work 50 hours a week is fucking crazy.

[@RebeccaTurner-ny1xx]

You prefer a state in which people die early, in agony, of preventable diseases?

[@Hannibal953able]

​@@RebeccaTurner-ny1xxPeople have the right to spend their hard earned cash on either drink or tobacco if they choose.

[@RebeccaTurner-ny1xx]

@@Hannibal953able Of course they have. Those who profit from it knowing the consequences, of course, are a different matter, just as those who supply other recreational drugs such as cocaine are responsible for the effects of their products. Alcohol in particular has caused immense misery in Ireland for a very long time, not least to the families of those addicted to it. Are you really defending men who preferred to splurge their weekly wages in the boozer rather than supporting their wife and children?

[@keziasarah]

Only 50? that leaves 118 for you to decide, nah can't have that!

[@chriskappert1365]

​@@RebeccaTurner-ny1xxallahu akhbarrrrrrrrrrrr !

[@jockstrap]

Too bloody expensive for a few pints now a days, I used to go to the pub every Friday and Saturday night for years and years , now I look twice at my hard earned cash and go to the supermarket, and buy a few pint bottles and have a few mates around . Nothing to do with smoking ban .......... ALL TO DO WITH RIP OFF PRICE OF BEER

[@sionnachog894]

Thankfully in my seventies I can only drink two pints or Im fucked the next day. One of the few advantages of age!!!

[@newtomthai3855]

well said greedy bastards the lot of them thought they would never see a poor day....

[@davidmorrissey5075]

One of the often ignored factors in the failing pub industry is Diageo and Heineken's stranglehold on the supply chain. This is one of the reasons that prices are sky high.

[@Art-is-craft]

Has absolutely nothing to do with it. Lots of small businesses are going out.

[@Patmofar]

@@Art-is-craft Has everything to do with it. The Irish got a rare glimpse of how Diageo works in Ireland during the spat between Diageo and Wetherspoon's when the latter started opening pubs in Ireland and were making the mistake that they would get the same deal with the Diageo cartel as they had in the UK where the British pub goer is protected from monopolies and cartels. In Ireland where over one third of TD's are, surprise, surprise, pub owners, the pub customer has little or no protections, the proof of which was how that little disagreement finished up. For me it absolutely ensured that I will never buy a Diageo product again.

[@RadioNul]

@@Patmofar Exactly. Good luck opening a new pub in Kilgarvan :)

[@Patmofar]

@@RadioNul 👍

[@tomdavies6368]

And why the drinks are so boring

[@darrenlee9237]

This is a very familiar story. The same thing is happening here in the UK. Pubs in England are closing at a phenomenal rate, year on year. Once upon a time the running of an independent pub or hostelry could provide a decent and potentially lucrative living. But the amount of taxation on beer, wines and spirits grows every year. Smoking in pubs was banned back in 2007 but nothing was given back to pub sector. The business taxes and cost of running a pub are through the roof. Now the Starmtrooper government is even planning to ban drinkers from smoking in beer gardens! That will be yet another hammer-blow dealt to an already ailing industry. Those who enjoy a drink will instead opt to purchase their alcohol from supermarkets at a heavily discounted price. We're witnessing the death-nell of the classic British & Irish pub. Ask yourselves as to whether these powerful elites are replicating what King Charles II tried to do when he planned on banning coffee shops, lest customers sit and plot revolution and to overthrow the monarchy whilst sitting and enjoying a brew. Pubs used to be at the very cornerstone of local village and town life. For centuries it was where our British & Irish forefathers went to seek solace, exchange news, celebrate, feel a sense of community spirit, commemorate and generally be sociable with other human beings. Now consider again as to whether this is just the latest sinister attempt by our governments to weaken our common bonds of humanity. It's well worth pondering...

[@sidewindersid4180]

I don't necessarily disagree with what you're saying, you make a number of valid points, but I want to know to what end. What are the elites trying to destroy and what will replace it.

[@darrenlee9237]

Take the draconian Covid-19 lockdowns. The reverberations from that are still being felt and will be having a detrimental impact on many nations for years to come. The "rules" constantly changed, we were placed in constant fear of the biological and legal consequences of non-compliance. Many people are still living in their virtual world. We are addicted to screens like never before. The kids couldn't go out and mingle with their friends, even at school during PE or break-time. Look at how quickly folks were willing to accept punitive measures be taken against those who dared to refuse experimental jabs that neither prevented the transmission of nor cured the Covid-19 virus. Terrified people who were warned against defying government diktat. "Don't kill granny" was one of the sinister mantras that emerged during that era. How many thousands of elderly people gave up the will to live and perished alone in hospitals and care homes without the regular visits from friends and family members that they had become reliant upon to lift their spirits? It's becoming increasingly difficult to be granted face-to-face contact with your local GP. We can't even walk-in to the doctor's surgery and book an appointment now. This simple task must now be booked online (which greatly impedes the elderly) or over the phone (be prepared for the 07:59am free-for-all with other patients desperately attempting to seek an audience with their elusive doctor). Our Post Offices have vanished. These used to be of great service to the local communities. Now all that's left are sub-post offices run by glorified newsagents who often possess minimal knowledge of the services they are tasked with providing. The old post offices or "GPOs" were spaces where people happened to meet other locals to share advice, news or gossip whilst in a queue. The UK government flogged it all off to it's bankster mates for a mere pittance. Our freedom to publicly assemble is now under threat with the government affording police the capability to use facial recognition systems that will see protesters travelling to demonstrations ordered not to attend events. That's a massive infringement on human rights and civil liberties. The social media drag-net continues unabated with central government demanding more power from tech-giants to be able to monitor and take action against those who have the audacity to say things that the powers-that-be might not find acceptable. Here in the UK freedom of speech absolutists have received a knock at the door and warned by police as to their future conduct. All for so-called "non-crime" hate incidents that will be kept on-file and may be scrutinised by potential future employers through enhanced CRB checks. Even to criticise or raise an objection to legitimate issues such as mass unregulated immigration is another to see ordinary decent people dragged through the justice system. We saw that only recently with the so-called "far right riots" back in August. The government went so far as to grant early release to career criminals convicted of serious offences. Just to free-up space in already overcrowded UK prisons for those newly arrested and convicted (within a matter of days) some for daring to hurl hurty-words at police or chant obscenities about a certain religion. The high streets are dying. Countless small and medium-sized businesses shut-up shop during the past few years whilst huge corporations like Amazon thrived during the lockdowns. Everything is going digital. The decline and inevitable collapse has been exacerbated by the lockdowns and many smaller businesses are never going to reopen. The way we live is very much under threat. Once again it's all being championed under the auspices of 'keeping us safe' and 'saving the planet'. They want us to not eat meat, not travel overseas and remain within the stifling confines of '15 minute cities' and 'human settlement zones'. Rewilding is very much a part of all this. It's known as Agenda 2030. I don't see any of this as progress. These are retrograde steps. It all amounts to the rapid emergence of an authoritarian technocracy. 'You will own nothing and be happy'. So says Klaus Schwab's WEF. Wherever all of this is heading it's nowhere good!

[@cehaem2]

Oh, look, another one that thinks that poisoning other people with your smoke is a human right. Let me guess, Fart-age stooge?

[@johnbrennan7764]

Yes indeed that is good summary, I also think we are losing our ability to communicate well and be sociable because our present lifestyles, we are no longer mixing with others in the same way.

[@sionnachog894]

I don't think there are sinister forces behind it.English pubs are generally shit (sorry but they are) machines, juke boxes , televisions, shallow conversation Never liked them....but Irish ones are catching up on you , that is one reason they are closing.

[@Croi_Fiain]

I feel quite lucky. I'm in a super rural part of Mayo in a village with a population around 1000 and there's about 4 pubs (albeit one only open part time) within 15 mins of me (drive, to be fair) and one has actually recently reopened, having refurbishment done to it. Pints of Guinness or Smithwick's red ale is a shade under €5. What IS sad is the sheer lack of nightclubs in local towns. Galway is about an hour from me and I belive the whole city now only has one nighclub. Local towns with good nightlife reputation have 0-1 clubs. And the one is open one night a week. What with the cost of living for most people, it seems there just aren't enough affordable places for younger people (or older!) to regularly enjoy the social aspects of that lifestyle I would have enjoyed 20 or 30 years ago.

[@nialld2638]

Even for those making decent money, a lot of people just stay at home now or have friends over. Covid really was the beginning of the end for a lot of shops, not just pubs

[@greatest7391]

Part of the plan

[@Localladproduction]

60 inch tv screen and hundreds of tv channels, movie chamels etc, cheep off licence buzz .. kids are involved in activities 5 nights s week , people go to gyms and other activities. ... the pub just is not a priority any more

[@sionnachog894]

Plus soccer blasting 24/7 and every drunk bore and ner do well boring the shit out of you. The wine bar is the new thing, no televisions but full of noisy women. Hobsons choice loud football or noisy women. Its the kidchen with a half dozen for me.!

[@jgdooley2003]

@@sionnachog894 You have hit the nail on the head regarding home drinking. In the olden days women were mostly at home with 5 or 6 kids. Drinking at home would not be tolerated, hence men and some women resorted to the pub so they could drink their fill in peace. Also in olden days there were no alternative sales outlets in which to buy drink. Supermarkets and petrol stations did not sell drink except if they bought a licence to do so. These applications were often blocked by publicans in the locality. Nowadays drinking is more tolerated at home than in former times and their is wider choice in off-licences and outlets although MUP has seen prices rise.

[@johnmccormack4498]

Used go to local frequently but just got tired of constant price increases and pure greed so stopped going and drink at home now. Publicans have only themselves to blame. They chased away their cutomers.

[@MrAronRobinson]

Often the Breweries/Landlords, and the Publicans are trying to keep their head above water to pay the bills.

[@sionnachog894]

You wouldn't believe the shit publicans have to put up with though, for regulations to litigation, and taxes....don't get me started.

[@noelmciver737]

Thanks for your video Thomas. Viewing from Perth, Australia.Our family ran a wonderful pub in Ballinasloe. Sadly closed for many years. So many happy memories of playing music there. Best wishes, Slan, Nollaigh

[@jameschun8217]

This video is very informative. GRMA for posting!

[@EannaWithAFada]

Seeing Tuam used as the example for this issue hit hard, because as a Galway city man every time I visit my family in Tuam, this is like 50% of what they talk about, we're fed up of going to Roots 😪

[@anonymous-pc5mf]

I love the pub, and the social atmosphere that comes with it. But the price of a larger in my local is 7.80, and i just cant afford to spend more than one night out per month. Its sad, drinking at home feels very antisocial.

[@cehaem2]

If you are resorting to drinking at home then the next logical step would be to start therapy.

[@sionnachog894]

Yea , but you get a bit of a buzz and don't get totally ripped off.

[@rhack10]

​@cehaem2 he doesn't need therapy, ffs let him enjoy himself. You are so quick to judge.

[@cehaem2]

@@sionnachog894 If he needs alcohol to enjoy himself then it's totally time for therapy. Apparently drinking is more important to him than socialising. Alcoholics are always going to find an excuse to maintain their bad habits. If drinking alone at home feels "antisocial" why does he even do it? Unless they can't imagine a life without the drink.

[@idokwatcher2062]

@@cehaem2 They don't let you "socialize" in pubs without buying something. It's not a homeless shelter. You sausage.

[@M_S_K420]

Loughrea used to have something like 52 pubs at one point, it's very different now, good video man

[@thomasblade1]

Wow 52! It just isn't sustainable. Thanks very much. I am just starting out and trying to improve with every video. 👍

[@barrycreed9886]

That can't be right. There's only about 6k people living there.

[@deslatt1172]

There used to be 52 pubs in Thurles ,less than 20 left operating now and most of those only open a few nights a week. Thurles has a population of between 7000 to 8000, depending on how far outside of town you count. But 52 pubs was never going to be sustainable ,even big hurling games in Semple stadium during the summer couldn't save them

[@matthewm1525]

Many good comments here about cost of living. I would also add drink driving laws have helped keep people at home rather than going to the pub. The lack of public infrastructure and taxi's in the more rural areas in the evening and night hours means less people are willing to take the risk. And rightly so. Drink driving is something people shouldn't have to face. Either in participating or in tragically receiving its effects. There are pubs in the middle of no where that used to be gathering places for people form nearby villages and farms. Today, those random pubs in the countryside are long gone.

[@peterhill8398]

I’m Australian and a lot of pubs in rural areas in the state of Victoria where l live are gradually disappearing. I think there are a number of reasons- -Bar prices getting too expensive, it’s cheaper to buy alcohol from liquor stores and invite your friends to your place. - the pub used to be the meeting-place in your local community to catch up with friends and the local gossip. Nowadays young people use social media. - police are stricter in enforcing drunk driving laws. -changing societal attitudes towards alcoholism & it’s associated health & social problems -people tend to work longer hours, leaving less time to spend in pubs - in Australia, pubs used to be the places in rural areas to place bets, many had TAB facilities. Nowadays people can do their gambling online with their phones. -males are now more likely to be expected to actively help with child-care & household chores in their relationships, so it’s straight home after work instead of going to the pub for a couple of hours. -some pubs that could potentially be successful, instead sit empty for years for want of a buyer or manager. Fewer people are willing to adopt the 24/7 work lifestyle that is required to run a pub.

[@CangsIre]

This is an extremely well made documentary. From the filming, editing, content, voice over, interview and production overall. You also have a great way of explaining things simply and practically. Keep up the great work and best of luck with your channel!

[@animal79thecat]

Worship yourself,not other people

[@JTA1961]

Well put

[@eoinosullivan2636]

Great channel, well shot, edited, and put together. This is indeed a multi-factorial problem. Kevin touched on one issue, over supply, but he didn't give a broader context. 40 years ago, in rural towns and villages, farmers brought milk to the creamery and the drink-driving laws were far different. Lunchtime trade was the busiest time for a pub. Pubs were THE social network. The supply was in place to meet the demand at the time. Less current demand, legislation, increased over heads etc, have all had an effect. Very few pubs can entertain a steady day trade.

[@RB-NZ2]

I remember my parents telling me back in the day the pubs would be rammed and owning one was essentially a license to print money.

[@jimclark1374]

The main reason is the smoking ban that was introduced in 2004, the year before the 22% of closures. The fact is the majority of regular customers were smokers. They all now drink at home as it's also a lot cheaper.

[@sionnachog894]

Probably, but the smoke was horrendous if you didn't smoke.

[@sao9995]

Say it isn't so; the thought of cultural and social rot causing harm to the Irish Pub is unendurable. It is a pleasure and an honor to subscribe to and like this small channel. Thomas Blade, you have a good heart.

[@patrickdoyle9304]

One big reason pubs are closing is that the next generation don’t want to run a pub for a living, like their parents did. Unless it’s a total goldmine. There’s easier ways to make a living.

[@matthewbarry376]

That but also the parents are only going to retire if they retire at all around 65. I think most will go on working the pub until death. At which point their children will be in their 40's with careers of their own. Usually living away from home or abroad.

[@JoeKelly-xg1xr]

It,s a hard game for sure , get a mug to run it for ya , like the British brewery pub company,s , 😂

[@telluwide5553]

When I was in Ireland even in 2009, I saw on average just 1 Irishman behind the bar (and he was, more than likely. the publican) the rest of the staff were foreigners...

[@j377yb33n]

@@telluwide5553 yeah, but was there craic?

[@leechapman-ri9rb]

@@j377yb33n No! F0reigner workers main focus during working hours is work. They are not your friend anymore than you want them as a friend. No craic to be had in a multi cultural dystopian nightmare.

[@snifferdog]

Aside from the cost, one reason I've stopped going is the volume that music is played at in many of them. Even though pubs are supposedly great places for chatting to people, how can you talk to anybody when there's music blaring at ear-splitting levels? I assume they're doing it so people will be forced to shout, and therefore get thirsty and and....

[@johnbrennan7764]

It’s unbelievable, cannot understand what’s the point of ear damaging decibels at all.

[@CT99234]

That's just your age.

[@kurt2022]

You can't be drinking when you're talking.

[@JuicyDry]

@@kurt2022 this!

[@noelpucarua2843]

Along with the pints you have raised (ha!), there is the fact that lot of family pubs that would have been handed down from generation to generation now find that the children of the publican do not want to work in the pub trade. Small families mean there are one or two children to inherit the pub and those children very often have had the benefit of good education and want a different career. Also, the children do not want to commit to staying in the location, be it a small town, rural village or even a city suburb. They wish to travel and see the world while following their own life and career path.

[@qcsorter4626]

Excellent comment!

[@sionnachog894]

Who would blame them, having to listen to sport bores all night.

[@liamdownes-yq2gx]

Thankfully I done my drinking (excessive at times T.G.) in the 70s and early 80s. When the crack was mental. Every pub was rocking full of devilment and laughter 7 nights a week. A bad thing maybe who knows. Amazingly the vast majority of people I grew up with and partied with settled down and done well in life. Just became occasional drinkers Marriage, mortgages, children etc took precident. Sadly now people tell me you can dial a number or go on line and get your highs delivered to the door. Married couples not young are at this with young children in the. home. Culture has changed completely. That's the modern outlooking country we live in now. Glad I grew up when I did great times, Young people tell now is the best of times. Good for them, keep her lit. Slainte, 🥂🥃🥃🥂🍻🍺🍷🍺🍻

[@Dani-it5sy]

What a shame. That's the bit I loved most with Ireland and the UK. That pub culture.

[@sionnachog894]

Irish pubs are shite these days, the myth is well gone.

[@laius6047]

I lived in London and one of the most disgusting things was seeing all these British students and especially girls being so wasted every night on weekend and even weekdays and peeing on the sidewalks. Yeah totally amazing pub experience.

[@tadhgcronin175]

While Ireland appears to have a significant per capita GDP this is actually a trick of smoke and mirrors. Ireland is a tax haven for the biggest US tech and Pharma corporations. This gives the illusion of wealth. The situation couldn't be further from the truth. The cost of living in Ireland is horrendous and people have very little disposable income, so after the rent is paid there is very little money left for pubs, restaurants or even an ice-cream. Ireland is way down the list in the European Union when disposable income is measured, more like Romania and Bulgaria.

[@richy3084]

You don't see swiss people sitting in pubs with their 'real' GDP. Pubs are crap

[@socire72]

We fought the English capitalists and landlords for 800 years just to elevate a certain group of people to become the capitalists and landlords themselves. James Connolly was right, our efforts are in vain

[@jackspratt4343]

Ireland is by far the most in-debted country on earth. It has a combined sovereign and private debt of over 600 per cent of GDP. The highest in the world by far. That makes Ireland the poorest country on the planet statistically.

[@sionnachog894]

You are quite right , yet we keep spoofing about how great it is , then the migrants come and we moan about how many there are (even though our hospitals would be fucked without them) . It is time we fessed up and told the trutch about west Dublin suburbs that are like Calcutta.

[@doloresbyrne5847]

The pints are too dear, the guinness is very poor in most pubs, The music is too deafening. Real drinkers are drinking at home now.

[@connoroleary591]

All the best points have already been made. I'll offer one more: Up until fairly recently communities were much more cohedive. Ould fella's and young fella's got along in a mutually respectful way. The internet broke that bond. We have become clever and we imagine that cynicism is the gloss on cleverness, so we don't show regard to anyone we can't exploit for networking. We stay in our little tribes, spending hours online, getting wounded by Tinder, unable to communicate and wondering why the hell we are so lonely.

[@CowboyPants-h5p]

Speaking for yourself, of course. I totally disagree, but then, I am not an incel or a simp.

[@connoroleary591]

@@CowboyPants-h5p with such a fetish for cowboys under wear, perhaps you are a courageous stalwart of the LGBTQP+ community. I am very much an ally and friend and very supportive of your right to live as proudly as you choose. Take care ❤️

[@interrobangings]

@@connoroleary591 consider why people don't respect you, jesus christ

[@sionnachog894]

Jasus! you need a few pints!

[@polreamonn]

Clones, my home town, once boasted over 20 pubs for a town of less than 3000 inhabitants. Really good fun on a summer Sunday when championship football was playing. Alas, much has changed. The football calendar has changed, the football has changed, the crowds have changed and even The Bursted Sofa is gone. Btw, Ulster football final on a sunny Sunday in Clones simply can't be beat.

[@sionnachog894]

Jasus, is football all you can think of!

[@petermcgarrymusicandflying]

Sad but sadder to think back at how it used to be. Ireland as we knew it is slipping away. Very good production.

[@christopher9727]

...... Do you know Jesus Christ can set you free from sins and save you from hell today Jesus Christ is the only hope in this world no other gods will lead you to heaven There is no security or hope with out Jesus Christ in this world come and repent of all sins today Today is the day of salvation come to the loving savior Today repent and do not go to hell Come to Jesus Christ today Jesus Christ is only way to heaven Repent and follow him today seek his heart Jesus Christ can fill the emptiness he can fill the void Heaven and hell is real cone to the loving savior today Today is the day of salvation tomorrow might be to late come to the loving savior today Romans 6.23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. John 3:16-21 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. Mark 1.15 15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel. 2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Hebrews 11:6 6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Jesus

[@clp91009]

The Irish government should be supporting their own indigenous industries not running them into the ground. The taxes and the underlying costs of doing business in Ireland are simply too high. The blame for that has to sit fairly and squarely with the government.

[@paolozmm]

The thing is, and we all know it - if there is a cut in some taxes or other costs, it will not be passed on to the customer. Its just not going to happen because if they're already on their knees they're going to need that extra bit of margin for themselves.

[@clp91009]

@@paolozmm that’s a different problem called price gouging. That’s self inflicted.

[@sionnachog894]

sure why would you bother when 6 american companies are paying half of our tax take?

[@basicconcepts1d]

​@@sionnachog894 Corporation Tax is the lowest in Ireland at 10%. The UK it's 25% and rising. If Ireland increased the rate of Corporation Tax to 15%.They could reduce the tax on drink for the benefit of the people. Who does your Government work for? The people or the big Businesses. The UK Government work for big businesses and Corporations not the people.

[@bokhans]

Isn’t Ireland the corporation taxfree heaven any more? Attractive for all mega corporations not wanting to pay taxes but demand a lot of services. I guess the ordinary people have to pay and corporations laugh ball the way to the bank.

[@johnbirch6365]

That was a pleasant watch, just recently visited Ireland for the first time 💪🏻🍺🍺 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇮🇪

[@j377yb33n]

I'll add to this, as someone who grew up in a small seaside town (that's now unfortunately gentrified), as a teenager and young adult I hated going into pubs because there was nothing to do. There was the expectation that a pub was the de-facto center of socialising in a town, even if there was an oversupply, so there didn't have to be any diversity in its appeal. None of my friends would go in, why would we, we were nerds? the music was shite, it was too dimly lit to read a book or play a board game if we weren't going to get heckled out of it I left for a few years and eventually went back on visits - and the pubs have seemingly specialised in different ways and while I will bemoan the loss of a good pool table, if you want singsongs and a fire, there's a pub for that. if you want an open mic or a cocktail and a kinda shite burger, there's a pub for that, and the atmosphere is a good deal better. The ones that do it well, they offer a different kind of social space, and if you can manage that for people that aren't just going for drink, you open a lot of things up. Country pubs are facing down the barrel of a changing demographic where younger people still in the town aren't all interested in the same sport, or the same music, or the same hobbies, on top of high running costs, diageo cranking prices, rents and the lack of transport to our non nucleated rural populations, and there's definitely more the government could be doing. The drinking attitude in the country was unhealthy for decades, but taxation and pricing people into cheap drink in their homes is not a good way to deal with it.

[@DarrenClapson-nt9lq]

Same in UK and Australia. One thing they should look at is pricing. Remove all taxes and levies from licensed premises and make the punter pay at the supermarket/off-license/bottle shop. Also make alcohol licensing cheaper and remove the onerous bureaucracies attached to live music venues. The mental health of the nation in great part depends on people communing and sharing fellowship is such places.

[@thehumancanary131]

I'm Irish - but live on an island in the Andaman Sea - VAT is 7%, a pint of beer is around 3 Euros - but the guiness is more expensive and doesn't travel well. The pubs are friendly, and for the most part serve good food. Pubs are eveywhere here, but many have Atap roofs, and are by the beach....many more in the towns...the weather is usually great...we had 3 inches of sunshine the other day! Thanks for your informative video - I appreciate the work you put in to make them...

[@paddyt4043]

This crisis started 40 years ago ...smalll farns and small pubs are on the same path ....destruction. 40 years ago they said "a yard of a bar counter was worth 100 acres of land "

[@TheA8lee]

Please elaborate.

[@basicconcepts1d]

And ten yards of a street in the red light district of Dublin could provide a good income.

[@paddyt4043]

@@TheA8lee everything I said was factual and self explanatory, I dont see why I need to elaborate?

[@TheA8lee]

@@paddyt4043 I don't understand the "a yard of a bar counter was worth 100 acres of land " idiom.

[@paddyt4043]

@@TheA8lee in 1970 this was literally a true statement, since then both family farms and country / family ran bars are disappearing in their tens of thousands .

[@thecocktailian2091]

Really it's never going to go away. And as your expert said, there were just to feckin many. That said the current state is untenable. They are simply too expensive and the publicans are being taxed to extermination. Cut the tax burden, lower prices for a pint and there would absolutely be a righting of the boat, if not a resurgence.

[@j377yb33n]

Some of the most thriving pubs i've seen aren't relying on match days and weekend drinking too, coz that wasn't healthy either. if you can get a steady stream in on different weekdays for different things you'll have a better drinking culture in general.

[@sionnachog894]

when the population our town was 3k there were 16 pubs , now the ppulation is 12k and there are six. But they are all shit, football, loud music, high prices, more bores than you can shake a stick at. Its no wonder people are stopping going .

[@thecocktailian2091]

@@sionnachog894 Thats sad to hear. No traditional pub? No legacy pub?

[@sionnachog894]

two chances, slim and f--k all!

[@luckystriker7489]

If you can't smoke in a pub, you'll smoke (and drink) more at home. One opinion (mine) from an ex-smoker - I don't regret quitting (but I like hanging out with smokers) - who no longer visits pubs because smoking has become shameful and drinking even more so. Now I drink anti-socially at home which is a bad thing. Not only do I drink more than usual, but I connect less with the community.

[@jameso9221]

Lots of youngins are back on the rollies. Pubs are filled with smokers still

[@loto7197]

​​@@jameso9221they were for a while, its all vapes now tho. Go to any festival and you'll find 50 vapers to every smoker. Not many young people can afford around 25 quid for a pouch of tobacco

[@MoontownMoss]

@@jameso9221 Thats good to hear I get the impression the youngins are a bunch of wee prudes judging each other on social media and not having any fun/getting into scrapes etc. With my nephews and neices Id nearly be proud to hear of them getting caught smoking or drinking. No such luck though.

[@richardkenny7563]

I was never a big fan of breathing in smoke when I was in a pub.

[@killbotone6210]

So all of that is your choice.

[@donovanreimer2324]

This is a really neat video. Nice pace and a good amount of data and facts. Subscribed.

[@markrushton5108]

Same thing here in Canada. Not nearly as many Bars and Pubs as once was. Nightlife is nearly non-existant. Smoking bans really affected Pubs. Culturally, alcohol has fell out of fashion, while drug use has risen. The WWWeb changed how young people socialize. They see Pubbing as Old People stuff, because it is. It was fun while it lasted.

[@frankyfourfingers1382]

Yeah, 20 years ago there used to be bars and strip clubs in every small town around me, and now there is literally nothing.

[@redeyedmongoose2963]

@@frankyfourfingers1382 sidewalks filled with drunks, is not as popular as it used to be

[@GerryGardiner]

I worked in a factory had more money then than now it's terrible

[@Dreyno]

The inflation in drink prices during the Celtic Tiger coincided with the introduction of cheap drink in supermarkets. In the same period, taxis became prohibitively expensive. A whole generation of young people turned 18 and into their mid 20s without ever becoming a pub goer because of the cost allied to a bad economy. I noticed that as the old clientele died off or stopped going out, there wasn’t new blood replacing them. The same people who were drinking there in 2005 were still there in 2015 minus the dead and aged. There was literally no younger people at all. The habit was broken. People under 35 are unlikely to have ever been a regular pub goer. When they did go out, it was pre-drinking at home and going straight to a club. Sitting in a pub watching the nine o’clock news with a gang of men in their 50s and 60s is alien to them. You also had a massive uptick in drug use amongst those young people. Drinking tended to be banging shots and then pills for the rest of the night. Clubs have closed all over the country because drink sales tanked. Add to all of this tightened drink driving laws and morning checkpoints and it all added up to being too expensive and too risky to go out for those who did want to go to a pub. Even if you paid €20 to get home in one of the few taxis still working nights in rural Ireland, you couldn’t go to work the next morning without risking your licence. People complain when the local pub closes but if they’re only going at Christmas and two or three other times a year, it can’t be there for them when they want it. All the landmarks that used to ubiquitous in rural Ireland are vanishing. Post offices, shops, pubs, schools, garages etc.

[@emmyemmaem]

Are more young people just entirely up and leaving small towns?

[@Dreyno]

@@emmyemmaem Not more than usual (which is to say, a lot leave but they always did). But they’re less and less involved in their own community’s social scene. More likely to go out in the nearest large town/city than ever darken the door of their local. 20 years ago people appreciated the charms of the local pub as well as the bright lights of the clubs. Now, not so much.

[@efitz3397]

I agree with all your points. Also at home with so many Chanel’s and entertainment packages like Netflix along with gaming young people are becoming a lot less sociable.

[@michaelgleeson4326]

​@@efitz3397I think "less social" isn't exactly true. Gaming and social media mean people connect with their friends more than ever. I'm not sure if these are necessarily positive but it means that, from my experience, I don't feel the need to go to the local pub to see my mates because I've been texting them all day. Don't get me wrong, I love the local pub, but going more than once a week seems quite problematic; the alcohol suddenly seems more important than the connections

[@efitz3397]

@@michaelgleeson4326 I’m not a pup goer either! Not even once a week. I grew up in a village next to a pub and there were 5 opened. Now there are 2. It is sad to see the demise of villages but time moves on and things change. I take your point regarding being social but is social anxiety growing or do you think we are just recognising it? I was a very shy child but because we were always going visiting or going to pubs (to listen to music)with my parents I learned to overcome it. Also my bedroom was just for sleeping as it was too bloody cold for sitting in so I had to stay downstairs and be part of when we had visitors!

[@dalesideroadclassiccarwork9038]

I am not surprised. Over 10 quid a pint, it's too bloody expensive. It's real shame because Ireland has some excellent old pubs full of character..

[@sionnachog894]

Its not ten quid yet, maybe six unless rip off pubs

[@axm5563]

What a bloody good segment ! Looking forward to more

[@ArminiusVicious]

I went to ireland a few years ago on a whim with my friend. I didnt want to bar hop, as we say stateside, for my whole trip. Im glad we did. From the very first pub i walked into and throughout our trip, i fell in love with the people and vibe in the pub. Made friends and even got invited to a wedding. To hear that the locals are being proced out hurts. The pub is nothing without the soul of the people that frequent it.

[@sionnachog894]

You were lucky, you found a good pub, a lot of them are just football blaring all night. Ireland is about chat, not TV but thats where the money is.

[@jeffrey89095]

Started watching this great video and was shook when you popped up. Used to work with you in a pub in Dublin 🤣. Great to see you pursuing something you're so obviously good at. Subscribed lad 🙌 all the best

[@spinlaunchglide]

On the demand side, although median household income increased slightly in Ireland 2023, it hasn't kept up with inflation. So the adjusted for inflation, the result is a drop of 1.9% to household disposable income. This probably helps to drive some of the changes to drinking preferences that you've mentioned in the video.

[@neildeadly7064]

A third of a pint is tax. that says it all :( then the government go and blow 330K on an unused bicycle shelter, amongst other money pit endeavours. Unfathomable

[@thomasblade1]

Thanks for commenting. Yes, I could do another whole video on that bike shed!

[@matthewbarry376]

None of these are money pit endeavors they are big contracts to ensure the politicians buddies are kept nice and fat. It's all part of the wealth transfer from the state to the kleptocrats.

[@seanpierce1727]

​@@thomasblade1Please do 🙏

[@fearnandubhach9677]

Could you do one on the dáil printer too? And the children’s hospital :(

[@benben5847]

@@fearnandubhach9677 “The Dail printer? Please tell me about that one. I suspect it’s yet another example of politicians throwing taxpayers hard earned down the drain and appearing on TV a couple of days later with a big grin spouting nonsense about the 660,000,000 houses that they are going to build before next Tuesday.

[@michaelmiddleton3311]

Watching from the states. Enjoyed this. Nice production!

[@alexhampton6814]

I’ve no sympathy for them. Got charged 6.80 for a pint last week in Meath. Last time I’ll be going out. Very sad to see this element of our culture falling. Between that and the jeets taking over, we’re a lost nation. I’m glad I grew up in the 90’s and 00’s. Great time to be a young lad!

[@sionnachog894]

The jeets?

[@tadroid3858]

Ironically, the Irish Pub theme is popular in the US.

[@basicconcepts1d]

Good music and good crack.....craic, fun and laughter and didn't feel the need to learn the written language. The Derry Journal and the Republican News were published in English. The most friendly, kind and lovable people in the World.

[@Gerard_2024]

@@basicconcepts1d *craic (there is no "k" in the written Irish language)

[@keithbarbaro7590]

Because of the stereotype. Here in the US many bars say "Irish pub", as a marketing tool. Honestly I think there is a genetic component. The Irish genetically crave alcohol. I'm in my 50's and most Irish-Catholic people I grew up with in NYC are heavy alcohol drinkers, like Germans and Scandinavians. And if you don't drink alcohol they are wary of you.

[@AnotherGayGuy]

​@keithbarbaro7590 Emigrants abroad tend to drink more to numb the pain. Not exactly rocket science - if I had to feck off to America, I'd probably start drinking a lot more, too. But then again, we're in our 50s - so, the people You probably met there were other Irish people whose culture back in the 80s and 90s was to go to the pub as a standard, usual recreational thing. That's *not* the new social standard in modern Ireland - going to the gym etc has replaced going to the pub for 20-somethings.

[@sionnachog894]

A themed Irish pub is not an Irish pub, an Irsh pub is the people not the film set ones we export all over the world, most of which are like morgues.

[@Ligerpride]

A lot of people will try and identify a key reason why the pub has massively declined but in reality there are so many. I can think of about 15-20 reasons.

[@MrSteve_Luddite.]

Care to give a few ?

[@spazzymacgee5648]

Examples please...

[@Moondogg111]

Aye, as someone in early 30s I'd say my main reasons for drifting away from pubs are the people in the pubs. People have become pompous assholes that are self centered. Increase in fights, increase in hard drug use, soccer taking the main stage, drop in food quality, increase in prices, on top of all this you have the younger generation realising that our history is a lie, that Ireland isnt actually a Republic at all and that there is going to be very bloody war in this country in our lifetimes. The time for sitting in a pub has past

[@missjo174]

People pre drinking at home to save money before they head out and spending near to nothing. Cost now compared to off licence, many don’t bother. Big costs of licences, overheads, hard for pubs to make a profit. The drinking culture has changed in Ireland. Many people went for few pints every day, was social place to meet, younger generations don’t do that as much unless they are borderline Alcos. People tend to meet in cafes etc

[@Chris-oz9qx]

Exactly, very rarely is one issue responsible for the demise of something. Rents, increase in prices, wage stagnation, lack of disposable income, smoking ban, people working so many hours they're too knackered to go out, cheap supermarket booze, change in lifestyle have all played their part in the demise of the pub.

[@Mefgar]

I work pubs, a busy one at that. Outside of the odd greedy publican, it's the rates and the monopolies involved in the breweries as well as the cost of electricity. Running a pub isn't cheap, companies like Diageo & Heineken & The Magners Group are grinding them into the ground.. that's not even including the extortionate tax rates that the government throws on Pubs. People haven't changed their habits, the economy and the taxes have changed their spending.

[@giggles8458]

Some Old-timers haven't changed! I did! Why do I need to go to a pub to find a hook-up? Just about 30 years ago the pubs were the only place! I did that! Do I wish to go to a pub to find a girl? No! All I need is my cellphone! People change, trends in 2022 show a continued decline in tobacco use rates globally. With about 1 in 5 adults worldwide consuming tobacco compared to 1 in 3 in 2000. Tobacco use declines despite tobacco industry efforts to jeopardize progress. Globally there are 1.25 billion adult tobacco users, according to the latest estimates in the World Health Organization (WHO) tobacco trends report out today. Trends in 2022 show a continued decline in tobacco use rates globally.

[@vikingsoftpaw]

I was told a number of years ago that the first hit the Irish public scene was banning smoking. People just preferred to stay at home then.

[@maulwurf62]

Not true. Consumption was falling before 2003, when the ban came in. Sales then stagnated for a while, but have been slowing over time. However, the number of breweries in Ireland has more than tripled since 2006, not to mention the many distilleries which have been founded in the last 20-25 years.

[@sionnachog894]

yea but smoke in pubs was shit.

[@phann860]

I went to Middleton some years ago, there was a very nice I went to, but one day I went in and I was told it was now a restaurant (2007 or so so). Hopefully it has survived but as a proper pub. The drink driving and smoking ban did most country pubs a death blow. Castlemartyr had 3 pubs years ago no doubt one or two have closed. In Skibbereen almost one in 4 houses were small pubs. I would go in, a pint of Murphys (Guinness is crap) and sit happily supping, a few chaps would come and go, but literally it was a family home with the front room divided by the bar, a bit of extra income for the family.

[@philbebbington1755]

€2.60 for a pint in Witherspoons (imported ale) to accompany your cheap food, but €9.95 for a pint in Temple Bar standing up beside the Gents toilet, no thanks...my nearest town is Portlaoise County Laois where a domestic pint is usually around €6, and I am almost 71 and a pensioner so for me it's LIDL & ALDI beers (1 or 2 with my evening meal) or Witherspoons when I visit Dublin or Dún Laoghaire for food and real ale. Another thing that P1$$€s me off (excuse the pun) is the rip-off prices charged for soft drinks which are often given as "free tray" to pubs from drinks wholesalers as a bonus when they buy a large order, then there is a culture change happening with the influx of the "new-Irish" , a lot of other Europeans have a Café culture, or a drink with meals at home culture, and a lot of folks of Asian origin (even non-Muslims) don't go for the rip-off Pub-culture either, one pub in Sligo tried to serve beers etc at more realistic (and still profitable prices) and as usual they were approached by a cartel of local Gombeen pub owners and told to increase their prices or this cartel would tell the wholesalers not to supply the cheaper pub, Gombeenism has a lot to do with closures.

[@cehaem2]

Aldi and Lidl beers taste like piss. Why tf do you even drink that? Temple Bar is a tourist trap you should know that.

[@murpho999]

Why are you comparing two extremes. Wetherspoons are horrible soulless pubs with awful service. Much rather go to a friendlier local.

[@johnkirwan1777]

The same happened to me when I brought down the prices of soft drinks my deliveries started to go astray organized by my so-called fellow publicans. We don't get on anymore. I'm not one bit worried. Got out of the bar trade.

[@FabioMessori]

in a nutshell, greed! way too expensive, unaffordable, even in the smallest town!

[@Art-is-craft]

Greed? Regulations are destroying the market.

[@danielowens9295]

It is very sad, Tradition and social places that were important but on the flip side you can’t help thinking of stories of fathers coming home and beating the life out of the family drunk out of their minds… but it’s still sad to see

[@emmyemmaem]

A lot off us might be the first generation in our family to not be drinking heavily. But i wonder how this contrasts to cannabis globally

[@eddybluesteel758]

Father's coming home beating there wife and Family, that's not the pubs fault 😊

[@matthewbarry376]

Just been replaced with drugs

[@emmyemmaem]

​@@matthewbarry376 i was listeninng to Garron Moore's podcast episode about this. really interesting topic. in a time where people lack connection in person and third places, how does all this coincide with heavier use and of stronger substances and mental health issue awareness/visibility/rise. and it seems like the lack of mental health supports and approach to drugs in contrast with drinking (aka plainclothes gardaí at festivals seems entrapping to me) . and DWI checkpoints. jeez.

[@danielowens9295]

@@matthewbarry376 cheaper 😂

[@alexaronatm9847]

Not only Ireland…happening everywhere. Same in Slovenia

[@phizzwizard]

When I was in my 20s everyone I knew went out drinking 3 to 4 times per week, the weekend started on a Thursday and ended on a Monday. Not only that, all of our parents (in their 40s and 50s) went out at least twice a week and sometimes more. Pubs were packed 4 days a week and in the town I live there were more than a dozen easily making money from the available business. Now I'm in my 40's and not one of my friends drink at all or if they do its on special occasions like weddings. I worked in bars for 17 years and seen a huge change, most notably when the indoor smoking ban took effect. The culture has shifted completely and its up to pubs to offer a service to those who no longer consider a night drinking as entertainment. You will probably find that the Pubs that remain open and making money are the ones which serve good food and are comfortable, nice places to sit. A bar stool and an open fire just isn't enough to interest people these days.

[@sionnachog894]

Sure all you get is football blaring on the telly or loud music to add to the drunk bores at the bar, why would you bother at six euro a pint?

[@daikidetbilisi]

Very interesting and well made! Weirdly I captained Gaelic Football in Eastern Europe and spent an awful lot of time in Irish pubs with Irish landlords. Many went abroad as its better, but they are struggling too. I too have a similar sized youtube channel, but a smaller niche. Subscribed. Keep up the good work. Cheers!