Pubs have lost summer season
SEPTEMBER 21 can’t come quick enough for Paul Moynihan as he prepares to reopen Moynihan’s of Donard after over six months of forced inactivity.
Paul was left ‘devastated’ by the Government’s U-turn back in August when they rowed back on plans to reopen ‘wet’ pubs on August 10.
However, The National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) last week gave the Government the green light to reopen pubs later this month.
‘It’s great to get a set-date for re-opening, said Paul.
‘ There is still some work to be done beforehand though. The guidelines are only in draft format at the moment and I would like to see them tied down so we know exactly what facing. We were hoping to get them yesterday (Thursday, September 10) but it never materialised. But we are delighted to be able to open again and are looking forward to seeing all our customers again’
Pubs reopening on September 21 will have to ensure there is no dancing or music being played in their premises and keep the volume on their televisions low, according to guidelines from public health experts.
Local Donard residents have been quick to inform Paul just how much they have missed the social interaction associated with Moynihan’s.
‘It’s great for the local community as there aren’t any cafés or places like that in the village. I think people in the area felt a little left out. In bigger towns you have cafés and pubs serving food, but we don’t have that in Donard. Opening back up is good news for me and good news for the village and our customers.’
Now Paul and his staff are putting in place the final preparations in order to be ready to reopen after over six months closed.
‘We have placed perspex up and we will have to give the place a good, deep clean before reopening. We will have sanitizers for people to use when entering and leaving. It will be a different experience to before Covid but we are more than confident that we will be able to handle it.’
The Government has previously reversed planned ‘wet’ pub re-openings after considering advice from the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET), but Paul is optimistic that publicans won’t be left in limbo once more.
‘I would be very confident the reopening will actually happen this time. I think they would be afraid of their lives to reverse the decision another time. We have already lost our whole summer season, which for a pub like ours is our busiest time of the year. We
are pretty much back into Autumn now, just when things start to quieten down again. Still, it’s great to be able to open up again and we are just counting down to September 21.’