Remember, a pub is not just for Christmas

TIS the season of the amateur drinker as work parties pack bars across Ireland - but this year, more than ever, it's important to remember that a pub is not just for Christmas.

- JOE O'SHEA

It may seem crazy to say it, but the classic Irish pub is now something of an endangered species.

Since 2005, one in four have closed and that's around 2,100 in two decades.

We're still losing around two a week (112 closures last year) and at the rate they are going especially in more rural areas many communities are already or soon to be pub-less altogether.

Now, you might think that's a good, healthy thing, given our traditional issues with drink going far back into the past. But the loss of so many businesses, family run and often at the centre of local life and community, is very bad news.