Friday night on the town is ‘just not the same’ anymore
IT was not your typical Friday night in the pubs of Dublin.
In the pubs which served meals in order to open for business, there was not much evidence of the traditional weekend throngs of people drinking shoulder to shoulder.
While many iconic bars in the capital remained dark and shuttered, the pubs which had turned themselves into eateries were convivial but lacking the usual hubbub of wall-towall drinking and talking.
“It’s not natural,” said Jennie Byrne, (25), who was out for the night in a group of six young women.
She and her pal, Alex Boucher (25), spoke of how social distancing rules limited the chances of meeting lots of new people on a night out in the city’s pubs.
“How the hell do you meet somebody new in the current situation? she said. “But we’re all getting to know our old friends a bit better because we’re spending more time with them.”
The two women had emerged with their friends from The Market Bar in Fade Street and said the “half empty” feel to the place took away from the usual Friday night atmosphere.
“It’s 10pm but it feels like well after closing time because there are so few people inside,” said Alex.
“We left a lot of food behind us on the table tonight. We don’t normally eat on a night out but there was a set menu at €23 each,” she said.
Around the city, people arriving at pub doors were being asked if they had prebooked a table. Many were being turned away.
The Market Bar’s door supervisor Kieran Sheeran (60) said: “In all my years, I never turned away so many nice people. Most millennials are no problem and they just walk away. I’ve found some middle-aged women who just want to come in for one more drink are the most unhappy at being refused entry.”
Manager John Melia said customers were allotted tables and the time was written down in chalk on the table sign so they can be reminded to leave after an hour and 45 minutes.
In nearby William Street South, the steps of the closed Powerscourt Townhouse were crowded with young adults sitting close together, chatting and drinking from paper cups, plastic bottles and the odd glass. A few metres away, Coppinger Row was busy with people queuing to get into the Pygmalion restaurant. Around 40 people stood in the narrow street for more than an hour beside open-air diners as they waited patiently to be allowed in. Security man Wesley Corea said: “There is loads of space inside but people must remain standing outside because we’re limited on the numbers we can allow in.”
Pygmalion owner Paul McGlade said: “People were ringing the guards to complain but they were wrong because no one in the queue is drinking. We’ve lines and stickers on the ground to help social distancing. The crowds are due to us having a Michelin Guide pizza chef.”
Among those on a night out were Daragh Martin (23) and Barry McDonald (23) from Skerries. They paid €9 for chicken balls in one pub and they were prepared to buy another meal at their next pub as they continued with their night.
The Sunday Independent telephoned several pubs to see if they would let us in when we arrived. Most said tables had to be pre-booked but some said there were ‘walk-in’ areas but patrons would have to buy a meal to be served drink.
Davy Byrne’s in Duke Street took our telephone booking and asked for names and telephone numbers for contact tracing. Our table number was also noted for tracing purposes. We dined on delicious Lambay Island crab claws in garlic butter at €15 a head.
Owner Billy Dempsey and manager Gerry Parkinson spoke of the usual Friday night numbers of 300 between 5pm and 10pm being reduced to 100. Many tables were removed and all 20 barstools placed in storage.
Gerry said it was disgraceful that some closed pubs doing takeaways allowed people to congregate outside those pubs in recent weeks. Billy echoed concerns that the Government has still not issued any guidelines for all pubs that are reopening without food serving obligations on July 20.
Some people expressed concerns the reopening of all pubs without restrictions would be a huge challenge for anti-Covid measures.