The word is out: All Irish pubs are closed.
The lead was taken by the venues in Temple Bar who concluded that they were unable to comply with the 100-patron limit, although the outcry caused by a video showing people in a crowded bar listening to lyrics such as “touching me, touching you” likely played a major part of the decision. In any case I was expecting Temple Bar to shut down because the area would be carnage on St Patrick’s Day if they did not.
However the health minister has asked all pubs to close down for the rest of the month, and all of my locals have done just that. Not sure if the closure request has legal force but compliance has been very high from what I have seen. As much as I dislike the decision I agree with the reasoning. Of course there will be pubs that open anyway, but these are going to be hard-to-find ones well away from city centers, and they are certainly not going to want the fact they are open to be publicized
I did manage to find a watering hole that was still open on Sunday night and they had some empty tables. Although the €6 per pint was a bit steep, they did accidentally give me three €10 notes rather than one as change for a €20. I will just say that all three of these notes and more are now back in the till.