There was a strange atmosphere in Dublin’s Temple Bar last night as bewildered tourists were sent back to their hotel bars after the 8pm curfew for pubs put an early end to the usually bustling tourist trade.
One couple out for the evening, Fiona and Hash, from England, were back in Ireland for Christmas to visit family but weren’t aware that the pubs would be closing at 8pm on Monday.
“We were looking forward to a night out together away from the kids and now we have to go back to the hotel at eight o’clock,” said Fiona. “We didn’t know that [bars would close early] when we arrived!”
With their plans for a night in The Temple Bar pub scarpered, now they were headed back to their hotel for dinner and a drink in the hotel bar, which stays open for residents until midnight.
“Because, you know, Omicron doesn’t happen in hotels,” Hash joked.
“It’s sad, because I personally don’t think it’s necessary,” said Fiona. “Everybody in that bar is double jabbed. You can’t get in there unless you’re double jabbed so it’s the safest place to be. It’s sad for the businesses.
“Who is suffering are businesses and you want to see them at the end of this.”
She added: “They’re saying [pubs] have got to close, but we can go back to our hotel and stay there til' midnight. How fair is that on these [pubs]?
“We’ve come to Dublin, to experience Dublin, to experience Temple Bar - but we can’t. And it was such a lovely atmosphere in there, it was so nice.”
Another group of three friends from Brazil, Cristina, Michelle and Andrea, milled around the cobblestone streets of Temple Bar at closing time last night with takeaway pints in hand.
“It’s pretty awful, isn’t it?” said Michelle.
But her friend Cristina said she wasn’t surprised at the new restrictions coming in: “It’s like the second year of Covid, I kind of got used to that,” she said.
“It’s weird to say it but I kind of got used to it. For me it’s kind of normal. The new normal.”
“We have to do what we have to do but still it’s quite frustrating,” said Michelle. “It’s Christmas time, it’s freezing cold in Ireland, there’s nothing else to do but go to pubs.”
“And it’s only eight o’clock,” added Cristina.
And their plan for the rest of the evening? “To go home,” they chorused together. “Try to be nice and warm!”
Queuing for a burger after the pubs closed was Diana, originally from Poland but has lived in Ireland for the last ten years, who had two friends, Ross and Roberto, over visiting her from the UK.
“I’ve just arrived here for a day and I’ll go back tomorrow,” said Ross. “Bit of an unlucky day [to arrive on] but it was nice to be here till eight o’clock and we’ll get up in the morning and go somewhere else.”
Pubs were officially closing but the night was still young for the three friends who hoped to pick up a takeaway pint somewhere else.
“We were actually a bit surprised,” said Diana. “I know they were supposed to close the pubs at eight o’clock but I didn’t think they would be that shut. You can see that everything is closing down.
“Most people only finish their jobs at six, seven o’clock so it’s going to be a very quiet Christmas.”
“It’s kind of strange that everyone is being asked to leave early even though everyone is still out and about,” added Ross. “It’s a strange atmosphere, it’s almost kind of fictional in a way.”
