The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
‘Dry spell’ comes to an end as pubs begin to re-open
THE ‘dry spell’ came to an end in Dingle on Monday as a small few of the town’s pub / restaurants opened their doors for the first time since the coronavirus lockdown was introduced in mid March. However, it will be another three weeks before the town’s pub trade returns to some semblance of its usual vibrancy when the final phase of the lifting of coronavirus restrictions comes into effect on July 20.
The first pub to serve a post-lockdown pint in Dingle was Paul Geaney’s, which opened at 10am and welcomed a lot of people who came in “with smiles on their faces at the thought of getting a bit of normality back into their lives”.
In Paul’s bar on Main Street ‘normal’ means ‘the new normal’: There’s no walking in the door and straight up to the bar; instead drink must be accompanied by a meal and people wait to be seated at ‘socially distanced’ tables, in a snug, behind Perspex screens, or in one of the bar’s four newly-constructed booths, each of which has seating for eight.
“We’re going by the book - we don’t want a situation where bars are closed for another 15 weeks,” said Paul Snr.
The new social distancing measures, a rigorous cleaning schedule and extra staff to make everything run smoothly has added to the cost of running the bar, but Paul says: “We’re happy to do that – the main thing is that we want people to feel safe... It’s not about the financial side of things, if we break even we’ll be thrilled. It’s about having the doors open – we were sick of walking and painting, and we weren’t any good at painting anyway.”
By early Monday evening Paul was happy to report a busy day in the bar, but mostly he was happy just to be back in business. “The town felt more open – we’re coming out from under a cloud,” he said.
As for the remainder of the tourist season, Paul is confident that, “things will work out well for Dingle, we always get a lot of Irish coming here and this year the Irish will be taking their holidays at home.”
Meanwhile, in Strand Street Normán Ó Conchúir and Nicky Foley were on the home run in their preparations for a culinary collaboration brought about by the ‘eat-while-you-drink’ regulations that allow bar/restaurants to open while regular pubs have to wait until July 20 before they can pull a pint.
Bob Griffin’s bar, run by Normán, wouldn’t have been able to open because they don’t do food and Nicky’s Solas Tapas restaurant, a few doors away, was struggling to find a way of implementing social distancing regulations in a small premises. Working together they found a solution that had both houses back in business on Monday evening. The idea couldn’t be simpler: Normán provides the drink and Nicky provides the tapas, which his staff deliver in Japanese-style ‘bento trays’ to the ample yard at the back of Bob Griffin’s that can accommodate up to 80 people.
As simple as the plan is, a lot of work went into the preparations. Over the past three weeks Normán has built a collection of six-person booths with the help of his family and staff who turned up to volunteer a helping hand. Then there was the task of getting up to speed with the “crazy amount” of regulations that run to some 300 pages. There was so much to learn that staff who were brought in for training were sent away with pages of regulations to study as homework.
People have to book their seat in advance, there is a strict ‘no food, no drink’ policy and Normán is in no mind for putting up with people looking to come in for a feed of drink. Not exactly standard procedure for an Irish pub, but as final preparations for the re-opening were underway on Monday afternoon it looked like it might work. Bookings were “flying in the door”, said Normán, “and we’re flat out for the weekend.
For all that, Normán doesn’t see European style socialising turning into a money spinner. “It won’t make money – you can’t with just 80 people – but it will cover the costs… What we’re doing is helping each other to break even,” he said.
Further back the Quay Tom Long’s bar also re-opened for food with drink on Monday and had a busy trade, helped by the lack of rain which allowed people sip pints on benches outside the front door.
West of Dingle the Bóthar Pub in Cuas (call for bookings), TP’s in Baile na nGall, Tig an tSaorsaigh in Baile an Fheirtéaraigh, and Páidí Ó Sé’s in Ventry (booking preferred but walk-ins catered for) also opened for business on Monday. And ‘Below the Hill’ the bar / retaurants that opened on Monday included Mullaly’s in Brandon (phone to book or order takeaway drinks), and O’Connor’s bar in Cloghane where there is a new Michelin Star chef. Spillane’s in the Maharees also opened with reservations required for a seat at a table indoors while those who opted to enjoy takeaway food and drinks in the bar’s outdoor seating area are required to order and pay online.
More of Dingle’s bar/restaurants will open over the coming days starting with the Marina Inn on Thursday; Ashe’s, Benners and Lord Baker’s on Friday, the Dingle Bay Hotel on Friday July 10 and John Benny’s on Friday July 17. In the middle of all that another collaboration between a neighbouring pub and restaurant will get up and running on Wednesday next, July 8, when Martin Bealin’s crew serve food from the Global Village to guests in the yard and courtyard behind Curran’s pub on Main Street.
On Friday Quinn’s pub in Ventry and the South Pole Inn in Annascaul will open and on Saturday the doors will open at tig Uí Chatháin in Baile an Fheirtéaraigh.
Meanwhile, Dingle Distillery re-opened for tours on Monday “in solidarity with a range of other businesses in Dingle [and] aiming to make Dingle the place to be for staycations this year”.