Occasionally we came across one that still doubled up as the local grocery store. Sadly the introduction of supermarkets and corner shops would seem to have all but put an end to this intriguing dual function.
Frog hopping from one pub to another to stop off for a club orange and for my other half to rediscover red lemonade, we found ourselves often among only a smattering of day time patrons. On one of my first experiences of Irish pubs, in a hamlet in Galway, our only co patron was an old guy in a flat cap with his head bent over the racing news and his hand cradling a glass of the dark stuff.
Street Fidlers
I was not surprised then to discover that Irish landlords are struggling to continue trading, even without competition from the franchise pub-cum-restaurants that dominate the pub landscape in the UK. With Irelands double whammy of their own debt ridden economy riding on the back of global economic downturn, it’s a minor miracle so many pubs are still open.