Tag Archives: pub trade

RELIEF was palpable in Bodyke last weekend with the easing of pandemic restrictions and the return of customers to the long bar at The Cobbler’s Rest.  Like thousands of so-called ‘wet pubs’, the venue was hit hard by the pandemic, enduring months of complete closure. The pub, which had never served food, chose not to provide the now infamous €9 meal in an effort to keep the doors open. The result was that it remained shut down between March and September of 2020 and worked around various waves of restrictions in the 15 months that followed. “It’s like a cloud has been lifted over Bodyke last weekend,” said Susan McMahon, who runs the popular rural venue alongside Martin Butler. “The relief was palpable and there was a great sense of excitement on Saturday night. Ironically, I’d say a lot of people chose to go to a restaurant that night, so we were fairly quiet, but it was great for that …

THE proprietors of an East Clare pub are appealing to the government to give them the chance to prove they can re-open and operate safety. Susan McMahon and Martin Butler have been running The Cobbler’s Rest, a so-called ‘wet’ pub, in Bodyke for the last 16 years. They have expressed anger at the fact that while they are sticking to the rules, a number of pubs are flouting regulations on serving a substantial meal, in order to stay open. Like all other pubs who don’t serve food, The Cobbler’s Rest has been shut since March on the direction of government and The National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET). Its proprietors have seen three false dawns and been preparing to re-open at different stages in July and August, only to have their hopes dashed at the end of last month. “I don’t think they’re going to let us open at all this year,” said Mr Butler. “It’s desperately unfair. Every pub …