Booze you lose.. 2,000 pubs shut in 20 years

Rural bars most at risk of permanent last orders.

- PAT FLANAGAN

THE traditional Irish pub could become a thing of the past for many rural communities after a new report revealed that around 2,000 bars have closed in the last two decades.

And it could get a lot worse as the same study has predicted that up to 1,000 more pubs could close in the years ahead if action is not taken now.

Pub closures were on average running at around 112 a year but between 2019 and 2024 this rate increased to 128 annually.

Overall, in the years from 2005 and 2024 the number of publican licences declined from 8,617 to 6,498, a drop of 24.6%, the report commissioned by the Drinks Industry Group of Ireland found.

The rate of closure is highest in rural counties, with Limerick, Offaly, Roscommon, Tipperary, Laois, Longford and Mayo recording closure rates of around 30% between 2005 and 2024.

The report, compiled by Dublin City University economics professor Anthony Foley warns more closures are imminent, especially in rural areas.

He added: “This report reveals a pattern of pub closures across Ireland, particularly in rural Ireland in recent years.

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