A question for the times: is there anywhere in the world where you can’t get a pint of Guinness in a joint draped with green, white and orange tricolours and belting out the hits of Christy Moore? Such desolate places must exist but they appear to be vanishingly rare.
If the Irish pub is one of the country’s most successful exports, there’s worrying news about its fortunes at home. Since 2005, nearly 2,000 pubs have closed, and since 2019 – a period of lockdown and sharply rising costs – more than 450 have called time for good. Unsurprisingly, the perennially populous Dublin has been affected less than smaller towns and rural areas.
