Pubs are finally back to pre-pandemic rules after what has been a horrendous two years for the hospitality sector.
Drinkers will be back on bar stools chatting to friends and strangers as the majority of Covid rules finally end.
But after a lengthy 22 months of restrictions on pubs in Ireland, let's take a look back at how far we've come:
March 2020
At the beginning of the pandemic, officials worked quickly to implement rules to slow the spread of Covid-19 here in Ireland.
As such, everyone was asked to stay at home in all circumstances, unless in an essential case.
All public and private gatherings of any number of people were banned and all non-essential shops shut their doors.
Alongside these rules, pubs and restaurants had to close for business until further notice.
April 2020
In April, two households were able to meet outdoors as long as they adhered to social distancing, and while a number of strict measures were eased, pubs and restaurants remained closed across the country for the second month in a row.
From 26 April, further measures were eased including allowing people who were fully vaccinated to meet other fully vaccinated people indoors, provided both people have had their second doses at least 14 days previously, but there was once again no update for pubs.
May 2020
In May, the government extended the Level Five lockdown measures until May 18 as cases remained high and access to vaccines remained months off.
So bars and restaurants had to remain out of business for the third month.
June 2020
Ireland entered phase two of the first easing of restrictions, which allowed only for essential businesses to reopen, but pubs had to stay closed.
This was when the first easing was seen for restaurants in Ireland at the end of the month - on June 29 - but once again it didn’t include the reopening of “wet” pubs nationwide.
July 2020
The next phase in Ireland’s easing of measures then occurred in July, but it would be another few weeks before pubs would welcome back customers on a phased basis.
The radius within which people were allowed to travel was also extended from 5 km to 20 km and exercise outdoors remained allowed.
Pubs had been promised they could reopen on July 20, however, with the situation still not under control, they were given a last-minute blow and told they would be not reopening, with just days' notice.
There was uproar over the fact that many had bought in stock and prepared for a return of staff as well - but officials did not budge on their decision.
August 2020
Pubs serving food were able to reopen at the beginning of August with a heap of protective measures in place.
However, in the latter half of August, the government decided to introduce a number of new restrictions to cope with the influx of cases.
Following a Cabinet meeting, a statement was released saying: “The virus is on the increase in Ireland and in recent weeks there have been multiple outbreaks across workplaces, households, and in sports clubs.
“We need to act now to protect the vulnerable in our communities, enable schools to reopen and support the resumption of health services.”
Pubs that reopened at the beginning of the month - that was selling food - were given a curfew of 11:30 pm as well as the following measures:
- all customer-facing staff to wear face coverings
- all customers to wear face coverings until seated and again on departure
- they are required to keep contact details to support contact tracing
- all customers to be seated at a table, with no seating allowed at the bar and table service only
- there should be a maximum of 6 people from no more than 3 households allowed at a table
- events, parties or gatherings of more than 6 people indoors or 15 people outdoors are not allowed in these settings
- all tables must have hand sanitiser
September 2020
Irish pubs were finally given the all-clear to reopen on September 21 after months of closures for those who didn’t have the capability to serve food.
Each pub would be reopening with restrictions to coincide with the level of Covid-19 in each county.
Areas that were on Level Two, any pubs not serving food were able to reopen on September 21
However, at this point Dublin was on Level Three - due to high infection rates - and so pubs were not permitted to open here until further guidance was given.
October 2020
On Wednesday, October 21, the entire country was placed on Level 5 lockdown once again with a small number of exceptions.
Pubs were therefore hit with another blow to business as Dublin wet pubs were forced to remain closed, while bars, cafes, restaurants - and wet pubs elsewhere - were allowed to provide take-away and delivery services only.
November 2020
The existing restrictions remained in place for the month of November, however, after the Cabinet meeting at the end of this month, new measures in response to the virus ahead of the Christmas season were decided upon.
Restaurants and pubs operating as restaurants were allowed to reopen from Friday, December 4, 2020, but tables had to be capped at a maximum of 6 people.
Restaurants had to have measures in place to keep guests and staff safe, including:
- teams will be fully trained in Covid-19 requirements
- hand sanitiser will be provided
- seating will be distanced
- businesses will close on time, customers will know how long they have
You were also asked to:
- sanitise our hands-on entry and exit
- wear face masks indoors and when moving around the building
- maintain social distancing
- provide details for contact tracing purposes
Wet pubs remained closed.
December 2020
Ireland enjoyed a slight easing in restrictions in the early parts of December 2020, however, after cases flew up due to increased socialisation, Ireland was placed back into a level five lockdown ahead of Christmas Day.
Wet pubs were still closed, however, from December 24, all restaurants and pubs serving food were requested to close once more.
January 2021
In January, Leo Varadkar issued another blow to pubs across the country and suggested that they may remain closed for up to three months.
The situation was due to be reviewed on January 30, at which point Varadkar predicted that if you were open, you would stay open and if you were closed you would likely need to plan for a continued closure into February.
February 2021
In line with predictions, all pubs nationwide remained closed from the start of February.
Towards the end of the month, however, the government issued an update and finally pinpointed a day for the welcoming back of customers to bars across the country - although it was far off.
Leo Varadkar suggested at this point that hospitality venues wouldn’t reopen until mid-summer as many business owners began to hit out at the decision.
March 2021
Pubs were still closed at this point, however, tension was growing among owners as some worried they may never be able to reopen following the devastation the pandemic had caused.
Timelines were beginning to emerge at this point for the reopening on April 5 after the Cabinet meeting however, doubts were being cast on this plan before the end of the month.
April 2021/ May 2021
Pubs would remain closed across April and May before a planned reopening on June 5.
June 2021
After another recommendation by health officials in June, it was decided that pubs would remain closed until July.
July 2021
After seven months of closures, pubs were gearing up to welcome back customers from July 5 with a number of restrictions in place to stop the spread of Covid-19.
The following rules were put in place:
- Facemasks had to be worn when away from the table
- No more than six people could be at one table and multiple bookings could not be made by one person
- Table service only
- Contact tracing information was taken on arrival per table
- A distance of 2m between each table had to be adhered to
August 2021
Towards the end of August people began to suggest that pubs would return to normal within a matter of weeks.
Ireland’s vaccination programme was coming to an end and so the government was hinting that it would be safe for a reopening.
September 2021
Pubs that had been closed since March 2021were finally allowed to resume indoor service in September.
Rules around the use of the Digital Covid Cert to prove vaccination or recovery also came into play this month.
If you did not have proof of either, only outdoor dining was allowed.
October was, at this point, coined as the month that major restrictions would be lifted.
October 2021
October 22 saw the end of requirements for physical distance, mask-wearing both outdoors and in indoor private settings, while the need to prove your vaccination or testing status at pubs or restaurants was also removed.
Masks were still mandatory for customers when not seated in bars and restaurants.
The closing time was also lifted this month - but would be swiftly put back in place by the festive season.
November 2021
In November the midnight curfew for pubs was reintroduced after a jump in cases was seen following the easing in October.
The guidance for a return to working from home also came back into play as well as a number of other restrictions to slow the “deeply concerning” rate of infection in the community, according to Taoiseach Micheal Martin.
December 2021
Much to the disappointment of many, strict restrictions on the reopening of pubs came back into effect on December 8.
The Omicron variant was beginning to spread throughout Ireland and so a number of restrictions were brought in as a method of slowing the fluctuation in numbers.
An 8:00 pm curfew was placed on all hospitality venues at this point, while the need for bookings, masks, and social distancing remained in place.
January 2022
Today, Saturday, January 22 is the day that pubs finally return to normal.
