‘The government didn’t trust us’

Suzanne Dunne, proprietor of the Spinning Wheel in Tyrrellspass, says that she and her husband Dermot were left with little choice but to reopen their pub last month.

Like many so-called ‘wet pubs’, or pubs that only serve drink and not food, the Spinning Wheel joined forces with a local takeaway in order to reopen its doors to customers after five months.

“I’m not going to lie – our backs were up against the wall. It was that, or lose everything. We have two children and they are our top priority. We have to make sure that they have a roof over their head and food on their plates.”

The Spinning Wheel is the only one of the four pubs in the village to return to trading. Things have gone well since the pub reopened in mid-August. They made the decision to restrict their customers to locals only and they have behaved impeccably and adhered to the social distancing guidelines, Suzanne says.

“Everyone has been absolutely brilliant. We took away the seating at the bar, which is a big thing in a rural pub. They have sat at the tables and been happy to do so. Not once have I had to say ‘guys you can’t be wandering around the pub’.

Happy to be open again after five months of no income, Suzanne says that while she would have liked a more generous support package for the pub sector from the government, she has a “realistic” take on things.

Other parts of the leisure and hospitality sectors, such as hotels, gyms and cinemas were also closed for long periods, and she believes that it would have been “unfair” for the pub sector to receive special treatment, particularly when the state’s finances are in such a precarious position.

“They don’t have it at the end of the day. Do they borrow money and then everyone else has to pay it back?”

For Suzanne her biggest criticism of the government’s position on wet pubs is simple:

“Trust would be the biggest issue; that they didn’t trust us to manage our businesses in the correct manner. That lack of trust was across the board. I know a small number of pubs might act the maggot but you will have that anyway, regardless of whether there is a pandemic. They don’t trust us to run them the right way, when we have been doing it for so long.”