GOOD FRIDAY?

...well it was for publicans, as drinkers revelled in new Holy Day laws

QUEUES formed outside some pubs from early morning yesterday as the 90-year ban on serving alcohol on Good Friday was finally lifted.

Some punters, eager to experience the novelty of ordering a pint on the holy day, were lined up outside early houses from 7am.

In what was set to be a long and productive day for hostelry owners, many pubs were buzzing throughout the morning as revellers reaped the benefits of the law change.

Publican Brian Conlon, of Slattery’s on Capel Street in Dublin city centre, was one of the first to pull a legal Good Friday pint at 7am, thanks to the pub’s early drinks licence.

‘It was busier than usual this morning; when I opened up at 7am there were queues at the front door,’ he said. ‘I think people were more coming in for the novelty factor that it was the first time in 90-odd years that you could legally have a drink.’

He said many of the punters were tourists from places such as England, Spain and Germany who had just arrived in Dublin and had to wait to check in to hotels.

‘They are all in having pints, they are all having breakfast – that option wouldn’t have been there last year, so I think it’s a great thing,’ he said.

‘Some bars don’t want to open, but it’s a choice – you don’t have to drink on Good Friday, but if you want to drink we are open.’

Mr Conlon said his staff were happy to work on what previously had been a day off.

‘They are all excited to come in and work, they want to be part of history because of us being the first bar to actually serve drink at 7am,’ he said.

Slattery’s regular Jim Croke welcomed the lifting of the ban, saying: ‘It’s great for tourism and it’s good for the country.’

Mr Croke said he would have been in Dublin’s Connolly train station – one of the few places exempt from the prohibition while it was in place – if the pubs had been closed yesterday.

The Vintners Federation of Ireland estimates that the lifting of the ban will bring in around €40million, with an extra €7million in VAT and excise duty contributions to the Exchequer.

The Good Friday ban formed part of the 1927 Intoxicating Liquor Act, which prohibited the sale of alcohol on three days each year: Christmas Day, St Patrick’s Day and Good Friday. The St Patrick’s Day ban was removed in 1962, while the Christmas prohibition remains in place.

Not all pubs were opening their doors yesterday, however. In Newmarket, north Co. Cork, for example, all six pubs in the small rural town were closed. They were happy to defy an implied threat from the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission that they could be sued for acting like a cartel.

Earlier this month, a CCPC spokesperson said: ‘Publicans should decide individually, and not collectively, the terms and conditions under which they are willing to provide goods or services to customers.’

There were previously some exceptions to the 90-year Good Friday ban – alcohol could be served to hotel residents; those travelling by air, rail or sea; or people at a theatre show or a sporting event such as greyhound racing.

In 2010, pub owners in Limerick were granted special dispensation to open when the city hosted a high-profile rugby match between Munster and Leinster.

Donall O’Keeffe, CEO of the Licensed Vintners Association, said allowing pubs to open on Good Friday was long overdue.

‘This change is good news, not only for Dublin pubs but also for our wider hospitality and tourism sectors, as people flock to the capital over the Easter weekend expecting the best of Irish hospitality,’ he said.

Vintners Federation of Ireland chief executive Padraig Cribben echoed these sentiments, saying: ‘The Good Friday ban is from a different era and is rightfully consigned to history. Like all other businesses who were never subject to a ban, publicans now have a choice to open.’