Pubs, actually short for Public House, are by no means just dim and noisy drinking halls. Rather, pubs – there are estimated to be over 10,000 of them in Ireland – are deeply rooted in Irish society. This is where people meet friends, neighbours and even strangers to talk in a relaxed atmosphere. Parties are celebrated here and simple meals are served, so-called “bar food”. Musicians of all kinds meet in the singing pubs for joint sessions. Anyone who feels like it can spontaneously join in. If you like, pubs are a melting pot of social encounters where all social classes come together.
And – okay, we admit it at this point – of course there is a lot of drinking in Irish pubs. If you want to know why people drink so much in Irish pubs, you sometimes get the answer that Ireland simply produces the best stouts and whiskeys in the world. And you can’t deny that. In fact, the black-brown Guinness is not only Ireland’s best-known beer brand, but almost a national symbol. Irish whiskey, whether Bushmills, Jameson or Tullamore Dew, also enjoys great popularity among whiskey connoisseurs. So the hypocritical argument doesn’t seem quite so far-fetched after all.
Much to the disappointment of some regulars, Irish pubs do not serve alcohol on two days of the year: Good Friday and Christmas Day. This ban has been causing controversy for some time. In spring 2010, some pub owners in Limerick finally rehearsed the rebellion. As luck would have it, a big rugby match was scheduled for Good Friday of all days, and a large number of visitors were expected to attend. The pub owners used this as an opportunity to obtain a special licence from the courts to serve spirits on Good Friday. Accompanied by nationwide media coverage, the pub owners celebrated their success, while the church representatives sulked.
Pubs also play an important role in Irish culture. Irish pub culture, for example, captivated many great writers. Whether James Joyce, Samuel Beckett, Oscar Wilde or Brendan Behan – they all wrote stories centred on a pub. Some are even rumoured to have sought their inspiration exclusively in pubs. Another phenomenon are the pub songs. Hardly any tourist returns from Ireland without some of these catchy melodies burned into his memory or even into his heart. The pub songs deal with the entire spectrum of human existence, often including passionate affection for alcoholic beverages and their consequences.
