Supermarket agent scours county in fire sale of rural pubs

Rural pubs have been in terminal decline for 30 years, and the country pub trade was now ‘dead’ – that’s according to a licence expert who is advising rural publicans in Galway to sell-up now before it’s too late.

Consultant James J Bunyan is scouring the Irish countryside to buy-up as many as 20 licences from rural pubs to use for off-licences – and he has invited offers from rural Galway publicans who want to get out of the trade.

He has been hired by franchise holders of XL convenience stores, who want to buy licences to capitalise on increased demand for off-licence sales from corner shops and petrol stations.

“It’s over – the rural pub is dead. It was a long wake for rural public houses,” he said.

“When the pub trade was going well, sure it was the place to be. But times have changed, the population shift has taken place and the rural pub is no longer in favour. It’s over for rural publicans. The sector is riddled with debt.

“Rural Ireland is like a mini version of the Wild West in the United States. There’s nobody living there and you won’t meet an oncoming car for miles. If you haven’t chimney pots, you won’t have business for a shop. If you don’t have footfall, how are you going to stay in business in a pub?”

Mr Bunyan’s doomsday analysis comes as Government stands accused of abandoning ‘wet’ pubs that don’t serve food, which have been closed since March – the longest pub lockdown in Europe.

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