Local difficulties With 112 closing each year, is it last orders for Ireland's beloved pubs?

Like triple-distilled whiskey, Irish pubs appear to have timeless appeal.

- Rory Carroll

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.

Scholars have now bestowed academic imprimatur on this cultural treasure status by examining - and celebrating - pubs through the lens of history, sociology, architecture, psychology, design, art and literature.

Two new books, The Irish Pub: Invention and Reinvention, and The Dublin Pub: A Social and Cultural History, brim with footnotes, data and lore as they analyse what makes a perfect pub and the mysterious alchemy that produces craic.

However, in each case the authors come to a sobering conclusion: Irish pubs are in trouble. They are vanishing from rural Ireland and many are struggling to survive in the capital.

“It feels like a moment of transition,” said Donal Fallon, the author of The Dublin Pub. “Every Dubliner should drive through rural towns to see what’s happening. The pub has been knocked of its perch.”