Closing time – 250 Galway pubs gone in a decade

Date Published: 25-Apr-2012

A staggering 250 pubs in County Galway have shut their doors over the last decade alone – and this is mainly to do with the downturn in the economy and changing drinking habits.

This represents almost 40% of pubs across the county as vintners are trying to fight back in an effort to maintain their trade and are now desperately seeking help from the Government in their efforts.

The Galway publicans are demanding a rural regeneration initiative, a rural transport scheme and a VAT reduction in order for them to compete with off-licence sales.

Over the years, the County Galway Vintners Federation have been one of the most active in the country and particularly in terms of looking after their members.

But even they admit that this is currently a difficult task in view of the fact that their turnover is down by between 50% and 60% over the past five years alone.

They say that rural publicans, in particular, are hit hardest and this is mainly due to the fact that many people have been encouraged to move to urban areas while rural dwellers are being “unfairly targeted”.

“They have closed or downgraded post offices, they have introduced diabolical drink driving legislation, local authorities tried to prevent people building houses in rural areas and now they have introduced a septic tank charge for rural householders,” Timmy Broderick, PRO of County Galway Vintners told The Connacht Tribune.

He was supported in his view by Dessie O’Brien, Chairman of County Galway Vintners, who said that many rural publicans were now forced to leave their customers home at night in an effort to generate trade.

“We are looking for some initiatives to help the rural pub survive. If this means providing pubs with taxi licences to leave their customers home, then it would be a step in the right direction,” Mr O’Brien said.

See full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune.