As many of you are aware, the country is currently in a lockdown to stop the spread of COVID-19, the global pandemic that has brought many countries to their knees. As you can see from our blog, we wanted to be centered on Limerick pubs and where you could go with your friends for a night out. Unfortunately, these pubs are now closed, due to government restrictions. Fortunately, the people behind the blog are well acquainted with the pubs in this city, and can leave a guide here for you to start on when we are finally out of this lockdown.

For today’s blog post, I wanted to talk about the current pandemic and exactly how it is affecting pubs across the country. Firstly it is clear that this pandemic has brought the economy down majorly, with many believing we are heading for a recession once the disease has finally been cured. With many pubs closing now, they are losing major business. It is unclear when they will open. Many leaving cert students would have liked to head out on the town on their graduation day, just as I did, but it is even unclear whether they will have a graduation ceremony. The huge Limerick festival held in May, Riverfest, is now cancelled, with the festival bringing many tourists and locals out to town, many of whom will go to pubs in the city while attending the festivities.

From various group calls and messages with my friends, it is very clear that we all miss a journey to the pub. For us, it was an excuse to socialize, speak and meet new people. I never truly appreciated the pub, until now when the lack of being able to order a Bulmer’s on tap is slowly breaking my heart. However, we have all agreed that once this is all over, we will be going straight to the pub. Perhaps this is the mindset for many others, and many pubs can recover from this economic blow.

However upsetting it is that there are no pubs to go to, and the only drink I have now is with my mother as we watch TV, I think that the decision to close the pubs was the best decision. I personally didn’t want to leave the house once the first case of COVID-19 was confirmed on the island, but many people went out to pubs, danced and even shared drinks. If we had left it like this, it would have only been a matter of weeks before the whole island had a case of the coronavirus. Public health and safety is a number one priority in my eyes, and with pubs being open the Coronavirus could have been ten times more devastating then it already is.

At this moment, I’m unsure of when the lockdown will end. Will I have to have online classes next semester? Will I be able to walk more than 2 kilometers from my home? I’m not sure. But I do know that when this is over, I will be more than happy to spend €5 on a pint.