Reports continue to surface around the number of people heading across the border to enjoy a night of normality in the likes of Belfast.
Restrictions up North saw restaurants and bars fully reopen to the public, while the Republic remains under more strict guidelines with a further reopening not expected until at least July 23.
While the hospitality industry in the Capital continues to suffer, with only outdoor services available, Belfast has seen a huge influx of young people heading up for weekends on the town.
Since the easing of Covid measures there, train tickets have been sparse from Connolly to Belfast with most weekends selling out completely.
Among those heading up are hundreds of students who have finished their Leaving Cert exams and who, in normal circumstances, would be celebrating the end of their time in school in Dublin, but with continued closures, more and more are opting to make the two-hour journey for some freedom.
Alannah Childs, 18, from Dublin told the Irish Mirror that she and her friends decided to go up North looking for ‘some normality’.
She explained; “I turned 18 during the last lockdown and finished school this year.
“I didn’t get a chance to celebrate with my friends in Dublin because if we risked going to a park all together and socially distant we were still getting told to go home by the gardai every time.
“We saw that Belfast had opened up indoor dining so me and my friends drove up a few weeks ago and had such a lovely time.
“It was so nice to have a bit of normality and to be able to hang out and have fun with your friends without feeling like you were doing something wrong.
“Not only was it fun, it was also so safe and everyone was going along with the restrictions they have up there.”
Dublin’s indoor hospitality services were due to reopen on July 5, but with the ongoing threat from the Delta variant, plans were held back.
The government is set to agree upon a new system for its reopening which will see only those who are fully vaccinated be granted permission for indoor dining.
It is understood they are looking to have a detailed plan for the resumption of indoor hospitality ready by July 19 with a reopening scheduled shortly after this.
