A Co Tipperary bar owner was given a holy blessing from the parish priest ahead of the grand reopening of his pub on Friday night.
Mullinahone parish priest Fr Danny O’Gorman dropped in to TJ Mac’s bar to ensure the first drop poured in the revamped ‘wet pub’ was a holy one as he blessed the pub on it’s first day back.
TJ McInerney said the holy blessing “means everything” to the pub owner and his family.
He said: “We love Fr Danny, he’s the heart of the community. Everybody looks to Fr Danny and we all have our faith.
“It’s very important and his blessing means everything to us. He’s a good man. Hopefully the blessing of Fr Danny will keep Mullinahone out of lockdown.”
As carpenters, painters and electricians put the finishing touches to McInerney’s business, the rural publican told the Irish Daily Mirror: “Today is the day, and we’ll be going right up to the eleventh hour.
“The tradesmen are working flat out in there, they’re all friends and have been working flat out for me from six o’clock in the morning start and finishing at 9 o’clock.
“I’m eternally grateful I have to say.”
The proud publican became a face for hundreds of ‘wet pub’ owners during protests outside Dail Eireann earlier this month.
The businessman was in tears as he was told Government had given the green light on the reopening of wet pubs.
But there was no time for tears yesterday as he prepared for a weekend of sold out tables.
He said: “It’s great to put my energy into something positive for my wife and kids, something for the future to work to.
“If we were closed much longer I’d say it would have been over so it gives us a chance to trade in the future and to provide a service.
“I doubted whether the day would come to reopen or not to be honest with you. When your business is closed for so long it’s hard to come back from that.”
The reopening of the bar is huge for the community according to Fr O’Gorman who told the Irish Mirror the rural pub is “intrinsic to the needs of any particular parish”.
He said: “I personally use it myself because of BT Sports watching soccer matches during the week and so it’s a great place to come and interact socially with parishioners.
“Your local pub is a neutral venue, whether you need to come and meet people or to hold a meeting rather than to hire a big hall. A rural pub is very important from that point of view.
“Both pubs (in the town) provide food and things like that after a funeral for people to gather so from a social point of view your local rural pub is intrinsic to the needs of any particular parish.
“We wish them the best, and we hope that we will avoid the third stage lockdown and people can come again and enjoy their social point and meet their friends here in TJ’s and in the Stack of Barley across the road.”
