A century ago, the County Limerick village of Kilteely had seven pubs but one by one they shut. This year, it braced to lose the last.
The economic and social trends that have shuttered family-run pubs across Ireland appear remorseless, leaving many communities with nowhere to meet, have a drink and share stories.
But this week Kilteely bucked the trend. The doomed bar reopened after 26 villagers clubbed together to buy it. “We felt we were going to be annexed into other communities if we didn’t have a place to meet and call our own,” said Liam Carroll. “So here we are, we’re publicans.”
The new owners pooled their savings and formed a syndicate to buy the pub, which otherwise faced probable demolition and conversion into accommodation.
The eclectic group – which includes a barrister, a solicitor, a pharmacist, a clinical psychologist, a carpenter, an accountant, a teacher, a signmaker, builders, farmers and electricians – bought the bar and licence for €300,000 (£260,000) and used its varied skills to reestablish and refurbish the business.
Previously Ahern’s, the pub is now called the Street Bar, a reference to the local expression “heading up the street”, a euphemism for heading out for a pint. (Some syndicate members wanted to call it the Ambush, after a famous 1921 attack during the British-Irish war that killed 11 soldiers and police, but that was vetoed.)
It has new wiring, a cool room for beer, Sky Sports and, tucked between wine and whiskey, a sign: “Welcome to the Street Bar. A community working together in Kilteely.” Another sign lists syndicate members.
“We hope other communities will see that it can be done,” said Carroll, the barrister. “All these closures – it doesn’t have to happen.”
Since 2005, Ireland has lost a quarter of its pubs: more than 2,100, averaging 112 a year, according to a study commissioned by the Drinks Industry Group of Ireland. The phenomenon is highest in rural areas. At county level, Limerick, in the south-west, recorded the highest decrease of 37.2%.
Multiple reasons are cited: the cost of living, high taxes on alcohol, drink-driving laws, young people drinking less, preferences to drink at home, the Covid pandemic and shrinking profit margins. A similar trend has closed 15,000 pubs in England, Wales and Scotland since 2000, according to the British Beer and Pub Association.
Having already lost post offices, shops and other pubs, the closure of Ahern’s – which had been kept afloat by Noreen Ahern, who is near retirement age, working an estimated 90 hours a week – would have left Kilteely’s main street empty and abandoned, save for a recycling business.
Rather than mourn, some residents proposed a rescue based on an example from the County Waterford village of Rathgormack: in 2021, 19 local people formed a syndicate to buy and run the last pub, which was due to close permanently.
A group of 20 Kilteely residents each contributed €15,000 to meet the €300,000 price and turn the pub into a private limited company with a social enterprise ethos. “We made clear to all who invested that they should expect not to see a return of their money,” said Carroll.
The group divided tasks such as paperwork, accounts, electrics and carpentry according to skillset, said Gerry O’Dea, 54, a farmer and financial adviser. “Everybody brought something to the table.”
Heeding advice from the Rathgormack syndicate, the Kilteely group separated ownership and management. “You couldn’t run a pub where you have 20 people with different opinions about the price of drinks,” said Carroll.
The shareholders appointed a five-member board that in turn hired a manager who, unlike them, had experience running a pub. “You hire the best people and get out of their way,” said Eoin English, 50, an engineer. The pub would remain a gathering point, he said. “This is where people have birthday parties or post-funeral receptions.”
Daniel Kreith, 29, a solicitor and syndicate member originally from Galway, said his home village had lost nine of its 13 pubs. Kilteely showed that decline and oblivion were not inevitable, he said: “Some of them could have been saved.”
The model is also in use elsewhere – County Kerry’s first community-owned pub opened earlier this summer.
Bosco Ryan, 56, another Kilteely syndicate member, said stakeholders and their friends and families formed a network that could help sustain the Street. “We all have a responsibility to support it.”
