Irish Pubs

 Like triple-distilled whiskey, Irish pubs appear to have timeless appeal. They are staple settings in films, books and plays, draw tourists to Ireland, replicate themselves around the world and induce social media quests for the perfect snug and the perfect pint...

Irish pubs are in trouble. They are vanishing from rural Ireland and many are struggling to survive in the capital... Since 2005, Ireland has lost a quarter of its pubs, more than 2,100, averaging 112 closures a year. Reasons cited include high taxes on alcohol, drink-driving laws, rising property prices and a fall in alcohol consumption...

Boors Carousing
Dutch School
Photo Credit York Art Gallery [Public Domain] 

Just over half of the population live within 300 metres of Ireland's 7,000 pubs and Share [Perry Share, a co-editor of The Irish Pub] said, pubs remained central to expressions of Irish culture.

"Even if declining, the pub is still part of the fabric of everyday life," he added. "If it does disappear, it's a real loss. People talk of alternatives like coffee shops, but no one says they had great craic in the coffee shop"...

An essay by Kevin Martin - the author of a previous volume on the history of Irish pubs titled 'Have Ye No Homes to Go To?' - identifies 10 elements for an ideal pub, including "a great pint of Guinness at a decent price" and "convivial company when required, and peace when not".

Social media influencers chronicle searches for "the best" Irish pub, on Instagram and other platforms but Fallon, a social historian based in Dublin, said that missed the point.

"This veneration of a handful of places, this ranking system, is often driven by aesthetics rather than any appreciation of what the pub is," he said. "Something doesn't have to be the best to be important. It has to be part of its community."

He added: ""If you've had the worst day in your life the nearest pub is probably the best pub." 

Fallon noted that the word pub stemmed from public house. "There is real warmth in that term," he said. "It implies a shared space and a living space. It captures the collective sense of what a pub is."

(Rory Carroll, The Guardian, 2025)

There is great difficulty about social media quests for the perfect snug. Why? Part of the pub's essence is having great conversation and banter there or quietly reading a book or newspaper. It is not really conducive to the environment created by the use and distraction of the smart phone. Indeed, some pubs "confiscate" phones before entry. This atmosphere - enjoying yourself with laughter, conversation, banter and perhaps an added song or two with an accompanying  piano or fiddle player all adds up to having the craic. So, as Fallon rightly points out, the social media influencer might not be on that same wavelength.