Dublin publican ‘livid’ as video of Saturday street drinking emerges
By Bill Heaney
Some of the best pubs in Dublin are are in the South William Street area.
However, their doors were locked shut while people who should have been inside were outside in the street, littering the place and disgustingly using it as a toilet.
Video footage of hundreds of people gathered in the street has left a well-known local business owner angry as he has been forced to stay closed for eight months.
The footage, which was circulated widely on social media, shows large crowds drinking on the city centre street and on surrounding streets in an apparent breach of Covid-19 lockdown rules.
Under the Government’s Level 5 restrictions in place across the State, so-called “wet pubs” that do not serve food can offer a take-away or delivery service only. In Dublin, “wet pubs” remain closed completely.
The regulations also state: “It is possible to meet with one other household in an outdoor setting which is not a home or garden, such as a park, including for exercise. No other social or family gatherings should take place.”
Daniel Grogan of Grogan’s Pub on Castle Street first aired his concerns on Twitter: ““Eight months closed yesterday. Deemed unsafe to operate. Is this safer?,” he asked, as he shared the footage of the crowds in the area.
Grogan’s pub on Castle Street, Dublin. File photograph: Bryan O’Brien
He said his premises had been left “in a disgraceful state this morning with tons of rubbish and people using it as a toilet. We are furious this morning.”
When contacted by The Irish Times, Mr Grogan said the footage and the rubbish the crowds left behind had “put me over the edge.”
“I am livid ,” he continued. “We are all just so fed up, We have been closed since March and not put a cent through our till since then as we have completely adhered to the rules.
Top picture is of Searson’s pub in Baggot Street, Dublin.