Ireland toasts the end of 91-year-old Good Friday ban on alcohol
For close to a century, it has been a hangover of the Republic of Ireland’s Christian heritage, thwarting those intent on toasting the arrival of Easter weekend.
But in a break with the driest of traditions, public houses opened across the country yesterday for the first time since the year in which Charles Lindbergh flew solo across the Atlantic and the Scottish Cup final was broadcast live on radio for the first time.
Local and tourists alike formed queues in the morning to make the most of the nation’s first wet Good Friday since 1927, just months after the historic law was changed.
The longstanding ban on alcohol sales was supported by religious groups who believed the sanctity of the holiday should be preserved.
In January, however, the Dáil ratified an amendment to the Intoxicating Liquor Act – which, for decades, also banned drinking on St Patrick’s Day – allowing pubs to open all day.
For those holsteries with early morning trade licences, the demand among patrons proved particularly high.
The Boar’s Head and Slattery’s in Dublin reported a roaring trade from as early as 7am, long before the vast majority of watering holes opened at 12.30pm.
Shane Mcshea, one of the first to be served in Slattery’s, said: “It’s a good thing to see pubs open and I don’t think it’s going to cause any major issues towards alcoholism. Eventually I can see it just becoming like any Friday.”
In Cork’s Nana’s Bar, the honour of pulling the day’s first pint fell to Maura Hallinan, a 98-year-old landlady who was aged just seven when the ban came into force.
She admitted to having mixed feelings about its demise, admitting: “Being closed for two or three days a year isn’t much to ask. People long ago used to decorate their pubs on Good Friday.“we used to close. After my husband died, I used to get somebody in to paint the pub on Good Friday.”
According to publicans’ group, the Vintners Federation of Ireland, the end of the ban could generate as much as £35 million in sales, with some pubs pledging to donate proceeds to good causes.
Padraig Cribben, the federation’s chief executive, said: “The Good Friday ban is from a different era. Like all other businesses who were never subject to a ban, publicans now have a choice to open.”
However, not everyone in the trade was cheering the move. In the market town of Newmarket in County Cork, six local publicans agreed to remain closed yesterday.
John Scanlon, who runs Scanlon’s Bar in the town, explained: “We have only two days off each year, Christmas Day and Good Friday, and we want to hold on to that.”