Ireland's pubs were forced to shut for what seemed like an eternity during the Covid-19 pandemic - and they were hugely missed.
Finally however they will be opening their doors for good, as the government has moved to reassure the hospitality sector that they won't be facing further closures.
And unsurprisingly some groups have taken full advantage of their new-found freedoms - racking up huge bar bills in the process.
We've seen a number of stories emerge from Irish pubs in recent months - from "scandal" to chaos after "going out for a few quiet ones".
Here are some of the highlights:
Small party fuming after racking up 'scandalous' bill in four hours
A group of begrudged pub-goers took to Trip Advisor to slam their local after racking up a massive bill and said “every detail about the place was woeful.”
Many people have been sharing their hefty receipts since pubs reopened in Ireland, but this one left a bitter taste for one group when they realised they were majorly overcharged.
They claimed that their night went from bad to worse and began by being left waiting for their drinks for long periods of time and then charged for items they didn’t receive at the end of their four-hour stay.
First off, before arriving they tried to modify their booking and then said it was instead cancelled without warning.
"The venue didn’t answer and instead, cancelled our booking and would not give us a table out in the beer garden as we booked."
The group said: “We told management and staff 5 times if a table came free could we have it.
“We witnessed them giving away three separate tables to people around us, who were there way after us.
“We addressed this so many times with them and after 4 hours we received our table.”
Then, after each round of drinks was ordered, they were left for 20 minutes at a time. In the meantime, other staff members would take their order again and write it down numerous times.
The group then received their bill totalling €501 for four people and they insisted; “This bill is scandalous for four people only there for 4 hours.
“If we each individually drank €125 worth of drink I would not be writing this review today.
“Obviously with a huge bill we had to go through it and their staff kept coming up to us nearly forcing us to pay straight away. I had to tell them to give us a few minutes 3 times.”
After going through what was listed on the receipt, they discovered “there were extra drinks that we had not received on it.”
“We tried to tell them but they were very abrupt and rude, especially the female manager who managed the bookings and door.
They concluded their review by saying; “It was a liability of a pub, I wish I had more positive things to say but unfortunately I do not. Every detail about the place was woeful.”
Small group rack up 'insane' bill - but people are divided
Sharing snaps of the bill from the plush Grand Central Hotel in Belfast city centre, one disgruntled customer said: "A night in Belfast. Completely insane. Rip off NI".
The bill amounted to £33.60 (€39.79) for two sauvignon blanc (£11/€13 each) and two pints (£5.80/€7 each).
The first bill didn't deter the customer as he then shared a second bill which amounted to £46, which included two brambles (£12/€13 each), two shortcross (£9/€10.60each) and one crisp tonic (£4/€4.73).
Some people agreed with the man, saying they felt the alcohol prices were too high in some pubs.
Posting a picture of cocktails from another Belfast venue, one punter said: "These three cocktails cost £35 (€41) in Bert's Jazz Bar (rest is tap water)".
While others criticised the man, saying: "Keyboard warrior ffs, of course its expensive, it’s the nicest hotel in Belfast with a bar on the 23rd floor!
“Go to spoons if you want pish pints and watered down cocktails ffs”.
Another person agreed that if the man wanted lower prices, he should not have gone to a more upmarket hotel.
They said: “Going to one of the most expensive bars/hotels in the city and then complaining about the prices, yet you stayed and bought another round anyway? Haha ok.”
Another said: “Very harsh of you to publicise the name of the venue. From a former pub owner/licensee I can assure you it’s not the fault of the pub owners. They need a f***ing break.
“What did you expect? Prices from the 80s?”
Others felt the man was being unfair as the prices were pretty standard.
They said: “I don’t think your statement is really that accurate. The average restaurant here doesn’t cost any more or less than other places across the UK.
“These are standard prices for standard restaurants.
“Go somewhere fancy and you’ll pay more but the quality will be better in most cases”.
Group rack up stunning bill after 'going out for a few quiet ones'
This group ended up with a scarcely believable tab at an Irish pub after heading out for a "few quiet ones".
However as most of us can attest, the quiet night out quickly turned into a heavy outing.
Most pubs across the country are now fully reopen after a shutdown for the pandemic, and one brave group have been enjoying their newly restored freedoms.
A video of the receipt showed the party had been dining at the popular Railway Bar on the Dublin Road in Drogheda, Co Louth, on Saturday, August 28.
The clip quickly went viral on social media, with TikTok user thatamariano adding the caption: "Come for a 'few quiet ones'.."
Coors, Moretti, Jagermeister, Tequila, Caralsberg, Heineken as well as a staggering amount of Guinness were all on the tab.
And it looked to be a liquid lunch, as there was not a crumb of food to be spotted on the gargantuan bill.
In all, the group racked up a whopping total of €679.90 before the pub was forced to stop serving at 11.30pm.
