Northern Irish shop asks Southerners to 'shop North and save big' after alcohol hike

A Northern Irish supermarket is encouraging southerners to drop in and purchase alcohol at cheaper prices following the implementation of the Minimum Unit Pricing for alcohol.

Northern counties are exempt from the new rules for the sale of booze, and so Hughes Foodhall Camlough is taking this opportunity to swing a new marketing campaign.

They’ve coined it ‘Booze at the Border’ telling people to “head for the border, and head for Hughes!”

The supermarket and Foodhall has listed all of their far cheaper prices compared to the new rates in the Republic of Ireland to entice customers in Dublin to make the 50-minute drive.

In a post on Facebook, they wrote: “New minimum alcohol pricing in the south means prices have soared.

“Check out our pricing to see how you can save big! Head for the border, head for Hughes!

Northern Irish shop asks Southerners to 'shop North and save big' after alcohol hike (Collins Photo Agency)

“The only minimum we offer is great value & friendly service.

“We also have Guinness NitroSurge, Blade & Sub kegs + more fantastic offers in-store.

“Located just off the A1 outside of Newry, 50 mins from Dublin for directions see below.”

Included in their price comparisons are 24x440ml cans of Morrisons for €16.25, which will now cost €41.66 under the new alcohol price laws.

Meanwhile, 24 cans of Heineken now cost €53.76 in the Republic of Ireland, but up North will remain at €41.95.

The advert has since been posted across Twitter and Reddit, with people planning their trips up North to avoid the latest price jump.

One angry responder wrote: “Nearly €50 smackers for a pack of Coors with MUP?!?!? Ah would you ever stop, what an absolute f*cking joke.

Northern Irish shop asks Southerners to 'shop North and save big' after alcohol hike (PA)

“I've always said traveling up to the North couldn't be worth it and probably still isn't for the most part.

“But I could definitely see myself heading up for the likes of Xmas/New Years/special occasions and filling the van up to the gills.”

Another wrote: “Someone is going to make a fortune bringing drink across the border I can imagine the future posts over on Garda info on Twitter in the coming months.”

A third revealed his way around the MUP altogether and said: “Start brewing your own. Kits are cheap and the ones I get are tasty.

“I currently have 100L (200 bottles split into 4 flavours) of cider fermenting that cost around £100 off Ebay.”