‘We’re getting scapegoated and we haven’t been open’
BYRNE’S Irish House in Kilcoole is among those pubs still waiting to be permitted to open its doors once again.
The pub is currently in the hands of the seventh generation of the family to have owned it since 1826.
Brothers Ciaran and Simon Doyle, and their wives Clodagh and Ciara, run the family business, which has been able to operate its off-licence during the Covid-19 crisis.
The pub has gone through a pandemic before, with the Spanish flu of 1918, but there is no family lore regarding the effects of that time on the business.
This is the first experience of its kind in living memory for those who run and frequent Byrne’s today.
Ciaran said that the first delay to re-opening, prior to July 20, ‘ took the wind out of our sails’.
He and Clodagh said that they were less surprised with the second one, approaching August 10.
‘The numbers were quite high, we didn’t think we would be opening,’ said Clodagh.
Ciaran said that they took it more in their stride for the first few weeks, but are now really hoping to get back behind the bar.
‘We miss the customers,’ said Ciaran. ‘We’re a local pub, you’d have the same guys in the same seats’.
He added that on a Monday night, for example, there could be just half a dozen people coming to the pub. Their regulars have become much more than just customers to them.
‘It is dragging on now,’ he said. Clodagh said that they would have a few older men who are retired, and might come up at around 4 in the afternoon and go home around 6 after a couple of pints. ‘ They have a chat with us and the other regulars. It’s part of the day, part of the routine for some people.’
Others would be the lads who finish work on a Thursday or Friday and have a couple of pints before going home. ‘It’s chill-out time, time to talk. We don’t have that anymore.’
Asked if it’s fair or unfair that they be required to stay closed for now, Ciaran said that he thinks it’s a little unfair.
‘Safety is paramount of course. But we can work within whatever guidelines are set out. We could make it work.’
Clodagh said that pubs like theirs in villages and more rural areas do not have a huge amount of people coming in.
She said that unlike house parties, they can monitor the numbers and the behaviours and ensure that all safety guidelines are met.
‘We can easily adapt given the opportunity and we’re not being given the opportunity to do it,’ said Ciaran. ‘We’re getting scapegoated and we haven’t even been open.’
‘We don’t know what to think,’ said Clodagh. ‘It’s all just a bit crazy.’
Ciaran said that they count themselves fortunate in many ways. ‘We do have the off-licence and we have no rent or mortgage so we are lucky. Companies were good and took back stock.’
‘We did have to let go of two part time staff,’ said Clodagh. She said that two other full time people have been getting a few hours to keep them ticking over.
Meanwhile, there are so many uncertainties ahead. ‘We don’t know how long the Covid payment will keep up,’ said Clodagh. ‘We don’t know if the government will help with a package in the future.’
Some of the works they carried out in preparation for re-opening include changing the water taps, putting in signs, creating space between tables, and sterilising the whole premises.
‘We are rearing to go,’ said Ciaran. ‘If we were told to open tomorrow we could do it, with social distancing and safety.’