Athlone publican 'disheartened' by latest reopening setback

While the lifting of the Level 5 lockdown means the vast majority of the economy is open again this week, publicans like John McDermott, of The Castle Inn on Athlone's Main Street, are facing into a Christmas period where the doors will have to remain shut.

Speaking to the Westmeath Independent this week, John said he was "disappointed and disheartened" by the announcement that only pubs serving substantial meals, prepared on site, can reopen from tomorrow (Friday, December 4).

"After Friday our type of pub – I don’t like calling it a wet pub, a traditional pub would be a better term – is the only type of company which won’t be allowed open. Everywhere else in the country will be open," he said.

"Our staff have been great, and I really feel sorry for them. A lot of customers have sent me messages saying their Christmas is ruined because they always went to The Castle Inn, and around to the three pubs (along with The Snug and Sean's Bar). And it’s not going to be the same this year. "

The Government's announcement last week stipulated that the meals served in pubs must be prepared "inside the premises" which appears to rule out arrangements being made with neighbouring restaurants to supply meals to pub customers.

The Castle Inn reopened in August, with food from the nearby Portside restaurant, but John said the food requirement was "stressful" to manage and was discontinued during the weeks where pubs were allowed to trade without requiring a meal to be ordered.

While not enthusiastic about the idea, John said The Castle Inn might have reopened this month if an arrangement with a nearby restaurant had been allowed.

"Now I think we’ll just hold fire until we can reopen as an ordinary pub again," he said.

A lot of work had been done in The Castle Inn during the pandemic to ensure the pub could trade as safely as possible, with additional staff training and screens put in place.

"We were getting great compliments about the setup we had, and we had an awful lot of bookings in for the month of December," he explained.

"We had a tradition in the pub on Christmas Eve, to have turkey and stuffing sandwiches. For years people would bring in their children during the afternoon and have a few Christmas carols. That’s gone for this year."

He pointed out that there has been no indication from the Government of how long pubs will have to remain closed, and John now doesn't expect to reopen for several more months.

The ongoing uncertainty has been difficult to cope with, he admitted.

"We’re usually open 364 days a year – Christmas Day is the only day you have off - so this is a total change. I have found this lockdown tougher, mentally.

"The last time the weather was good, and I was getting out walking and cycling. I was getting around and meeting a lot more people, but I haven’t met many people this time. We’ve kind of kept to ourselves

"It’s dark in the mornings and dark early in the evenings, so it’s been tough. The interactions with customers, staff and friends just isn’t there this time. The staff are worried and are just praying that we’ll survive this."

He said additional grants which the Government has provided to the pub sector were necessary to meet the bills that were still coming in.

"It was essential that they did that, otherwise you would have seen a lot of pubs closing (permanently)," he said.