Paul Hopkins: Hold your hour, for youmight not have another

The latest Drinks Industry Group of Ireland (DIGI) report reveals a severe 20-year decline in the number of pubs across Ireland, driven by high taxation, rising costs and changing consumer trends, underscoring the urgent need for Government support.

A total of 2,205 pubs, roughly one in four, have closed their doors since 2005, reducing the number of pub licences to 6,412. An average of 110 pubs have stopped trading each year in the past two decades, with rural communities experiencing the most acute losses.

Why? First up is the price. In a time when a pint, or, more so, a glass of wine, can leave little change out of a tenner, thirst may wane somewhat, And long gone are the days of "It's your round..." Second, for a country long known for its affiliation with alcohol, people today are more aware of addiction and accompanying health issues and think twice before going for a night on the lash. Third, Gen Z just don't drink, except maybe on special occasions, and instead prefer to go to the gym or for a coffee.

Limerick locals last week rallied together to save their village's only pub – The Arch Bar in Herbertstown – from permanently closing after 22 years. It has now been bought by 26 villagers who each hold shares in the premise.

The hamlet where I lay my head has more coffee shops now than pubs – who'd have thought?

We've come a long way since I made my journey into the measured world of the public bar, cheap chandeliers and brass fittings, peopled by young bucks and old men lost in familiar overcoats as they sat motionlessly, almost ritualistically, eyeing their bottle of Guinness and its accompanying whiskey chaser. It would be a brave man indeed who’d touch another man’s drink.

These were men-only, hallowed sanctums in the days before ‘wimmin’ journalists from the Irish Times dared to sit in a men-only bar and refused to move until they had been served. In one fell swoop we young bucks and men lost our last refuge from an increasingly frenetic world and women started to hold their hour – and have another.

No more in the pub are revolutions plotted, loved ones waked (not religiously at least), the body and soul revived, nor young bucks told "Get that into you and it'll put hairs on your chest and a grin on your gob ..."

It would seem the days of having the craic with the black stuff and a roaring fire are pretty much over. Particularly in remote rural pubs where community for the older folk could be a respite from isolation and loneliness, even if yer man at the bar said nowt to you or anyone as he downed his daily replenishment. No smile on his face, but as happy as Larry.

Today's dwindling pub-goers are looking for more than just a place to drink, The want the diverse menu of vegetarian options, the craft beers and IPAs and cocktails as well as the traditional stuff – and a vibrant atmosphere that caters for different tastes. They are demanding quality, not just quantity,

Who's having the kale smoothie?

Once upon a time, people used to say that if you weren't drinking alcohol, then you were "just not drinking" because those opting out of downing beer after beer had to choose from a limited selection of sweet, fizzy drinks. That has rapidly changed The growing popularity of non-alcoholic beer and wine is one of the most interesting trends. Globally, it is one of the fastest-growing beverage categories, as the competition ups among brewers to seek out more complex, more challenging options.

Since 2022 the sale of various 'zero-zero' drinks has risen here by 31.7 per cent, with non- alcoholic wine up 40 per cent. Meanwhile, an Alcohol Action Ireland (AAI) study shows a 93 per cent increase in alcohol sales from supermarkets and off-licenses in the past two years.

The pub industry faces some serious challenges, as publicans last week told the Government. Those rising prices of alcohol and energy are putting a squeeze on profits as is the decline in consumption. Publican, though have to put their round in and give people a reason to leave their homes where a night in with a crate of cans is far cheaper. The pubs that survive will be those that foster a sense of a modern community, creating a welcoming space for everyone.

Nowadays, I drink less. Go to the pub far less. It's an age thing. Which is good, not least because I am not drunk on nostalgia for those days of young bucks and old men with pints and chasers. In my sanctum of old, my holy of holies.

I'm content, holding my hour, in my old, familiar overcoat ...