Rural pubs in Offaly delighted to open their doors

“So far, so good” is the phrase used by Willie Grennan to describe his first week behind the counter in over six months at his pub, Grennans on the Green, in the picturesque village of Killeigh.

Willie says he is “delighted to be back in business” and his regular customers are “even more delighted” to be able to meet and chat each other over a drink.

While admitting that the pub experience is “very different” to what went before, with Covid screens, table service, hand sanitising, and social distancing all part of the new normal, he says the basic principle of people coming together to meet each other and socialise in the local pub has been greatly missed in rural communities.

“The last six months has been very hard on people, and I would have customers who are very lonely and they would come into the pub for maybe a pint or two, but more importantly to connect with their neighbours and have a chat,” says Willie “and thank God we have had a steady stream of customers in since we re-opened on Monday.”

The TV in Grennans on the Green has been turned down low all week with subtitles on, but Willie Grennan says nobody has even noticed the low volume as his customers are so happy to catch up with their neighbours and friends.

Prior to the Covid lockdown, the pub was a popular venue for parties and other celebrations in the local community, but with all those functions gone, Willie says he will be relying on the support of his loyal customer base in the coming months.

He says the government restart grant was “a great help” in renovating his premises to bring it into line with current public health guidelines, and he tried, insofar as it was possible, to employ local people to carry out the necessary works.

On a personal level, the delay in re-opening the ‘wet pubs’ suited Willie Grennan and his family, as his wife, Carol, was receiving treatment abroad for Lyme Disease. With her immune system compromised, Willie is very conscious of the need to protect Carol while, at the same time, trying to run his business.

“We are taking all the necessary precautions and abiding by all the health guidelines, so hopefully we can continue to trade and retain the support of the local community,” he says.

Another rural pub which has been closed for over six months is the very popular Dan and Molly’s in Ballyboy, outside Kilcormac, who re-opened their doors to customers at 7pm on Wednesday night.

The pub, which first began trading 1937, is now run by Molly Boland, along with her daughter, Catriona, and son-in-law, Fergus McDonald, and is famed as much for its beautiful straw-thatched roof as it is for its impromptu music and dancing sessions in the front parlour.

“To be honest, I am nervous at how the reopening of the wet pubs will go,” admits Catriona McDonald “but people have been very good and there is a lot of support out there so I hope the Covid numbers don’t keep rising and that we will be able to stay open,” she says.

With music no longer allowed in pubs, Catriona says a visit to Dan and Molly’s will be “a bit different” for customers, but the same warm welcome will still be there.

“We honestly never thought we would be closed for six months,” she says “but our suppliers have been very accommodating, and our customers have been very understanding.”

As a parent herself, Catriona McDonald says she can see “both sides of the argument” in relation to the decision to keep pubs closed for so long. “I looked at it from a lot of perspectives, and I think the absolute priority for the government had to be getting the kids back to school and if that meant the pubs had to stay closed, then so be it” she says.

For Catriona’s mother, Molly, working behind the counter in Dan and Molly’s pub has been “her whole life” and she will continue to play her part in meeting and greeting her regular customers, many of whom are now close friends also.

While Dan and Molly’s have invested heavily in bringing their pub into line with current public health guidelines, they have not installed Perspex screens. “I think they are very clinical” says Catriona “but if we have to install them at some stage in the future, we will, but we will be wearing our masks and other PPE and we will be enforcing all the rules around social distancing.”

Accepting that it is “a changed landscape” for their customers, Catriona McDonald says the historic pub is just delighted to “have the front door open again.”

In Banagher, Ger Hough from the world-renowned JJ Hough’s Singing Pub, has adopted a philosophical approach to the fate of the pub trade over the last six months. Having adapted to the changed circumstances by first opening a “Go Window” where he served pints and pizzas to investing in a large marquee and erecting it in an outdoor beer garden, he is now finally able to serve pints without having to serve food.

“Life is filled with obstacles,” he says “and it is how we meet them that provides us with meaning for our lives. If one simply sits back hesitating, watching the others swim, the waters become far too frightening to face. Go ahead, leap in!”