‘People would love to get back to a sense of normality’

Given the noises coming from senior members of the coalition and the still relatively high infection rates, the chair of the Westmeath branch of the Vintners Federation of Ireland (VFI) Liam Gilleran isn’t anticipating being able to reopen the doors of his Mullingar gastropub anytime soon.

“The schools and construction are the priorities and I totally understand that, because having kids at home is not feasible. They have to get back to some form of education, and equally, the country needs building to get started again,” he said.

Whenever the pub trade is given the green light from the powers that be to start trading again, he wants to see so-called “wet bars” treated in the same way as their food servicing counterparts.

“I think a lot of publicans at this stage would love if they kept it closed in the medium term until they have a serious handle on the coronavirus. Opening again and closing again and opening again and closing again is not good for business and most certainly not good for morale. From a publican and a staff point of view, it is a bit of a nightmare.

“Also, don’t just open up gastropubs, open all the pubs. For one, the gastropubs can’t statistically facilitate all of the customers when the other pubs are closed and capacity is also greatly reduced. We’d love to see them all open up.

“It’s fair to everyone concerned. It’s also fair to all of the employees and staff. Our staff are critical to our businesses and my heart goes out to the guys that work here and I am sure every other publican feels the same. It has been a difficult year for them. It’s not just the publicans but everyone involved in the pub game.”

Although grateful for the supports that the government have put in place, Mr Gilleran says that for many publicans, the aid they receive wouldn’t even cover the interest payments on their bank borrowings.

“Every pub really has to trade to pay back what they owe and to survive in the long term,” he said. “There is no such thing as a free lunch. At some stage we will have to bite the bullet and reopen the economy, because Covid doesn’t care whether you are open or closed. In hospitality the number of Covid cases was very, very small.

“I know that there were some publicans that traded outside of the rule book. We all know that, but at the end of the day, most pubs have been tremendous in adhering to the rules and, as I have said all along, most publicans are responsible individuals – as are the people who are working for them.”

Like many publicans, Mr Gilleran has the enforced periods of closure sprucing up his premises, but while pre-Covid any work was done at top speed, the opposite has been case during lockdown.

“A job might normally take a week but we drag it out for eight weeks. We do a couple hours here and a couple of hours there. Even in this lockdown now, we are looking at work to be done in bar and lounge area and in the smoking area. “You are doing things that you probably couldn’t when you were open.

“It is a case of dragging it out, walking the dog, checking in on family members, doing a good bit of reading. Get up every morning, have the same routine. Don’t lie on in bed. Just keep the routine in your life.”

Although he wants society reopen as soon as possible, the well-known publican knows first hand the danger that Covid-19 poses to vulnerable people.

“I lost a family member to it only recently. We were all there when they passed away. It is a very real and horrible infection, but we can’t stay closed indefinitely.”

He believes that decision-makers have to factor in the impact that repeat lockdowns have had on the mental well being of the population.

“My heart goes out to young people. When I was in my 20s, you couldn’t me in. I’d take the door off the hinges. I can totally understand how they feel.

“People overall would love to go back to a sense of normality that we have been used to for most of our lives.”

On a normal year, Berty Dunne and his staff at the Annebrook House Hotel would be gearing up for a busy spring and summer of weddings.

One of the most popular venues in the midlands, in 2019 the Annebrook hosted almost 100 weddings. Speaking to the Westmeath Examiner, Mr Dunne says that it will be a long time before we see a return to the big weddings that were a feature of Irish life pre-Covid.

“We have a skeletal staff of about 10 in the hotel, where we had over 110 on our books. It is disheartening to think that this time two years ago, we were gearing up for a huge wedding season. We were doing between 80 and 100 weddings a year. It might take up again next year, but there are lot moving to small weddings. That business is lost and I don’t see it coming back.”

The Annebrook has remained open for frontline workers throughout the pandemic, but its proprietor says that the income generated is less than 20 per cent of a normal year.

He says that the range of support provided by government have helped cover some of the costs of maintaining a large operation, such as his.

“I was looking at my ESB bill and different things and thought ‘God you’d think these bills would be an awful lot less’, but they were still 80pc of the original bills because you have to keep the place heated and aired. You have to keep everything ready to go for the future.”

The Annebrook, like every other hospitality businesses, had been preparing for the fleadh and the team were looking forward to catering to the more than half a million visitors expected in Mullingar.

“It would have been a huge boost to all of the hospitality sector in Mullingar, down to the little restaurants and cafés. It would have risen all boats.

“We went though some tough times in 2008/2010. Here was a chance that there was going to be a huge amount of money coming into the hospitality sector, and that would have been reinvested. It would have been a huge boost for the hotels, restaurants and pubs.”

Hopes are high locally, that the fleadh organising committee can convince Comhaltas to award the event to Mullingar for two years when the world reopens again. Mr Dunne says that if Mullingar is successful in its bid, it will be a “huge help” to the local economy.

“I would hope they will get it after all of the effort they put in during the first time.”

Looking ahead, the owner of the Annebrook says that the speed at which the hospitality sector recovers depends on the Covid-19 vaccine. He also believes that the government should have introduced mandatory quarantine in hotels for people travelling here from overseas.

“I think the staycation will come back first. People will be reluctant to go overseas later this year. I think the staycation will come first and will be a help to the sector, but it just depends where we are with Covid and it will come down to the vaccine rollout.”

When the economy opens up again, Mr Dunne knows that he will be down some staff members who have found alternative employment during the pandemic, including one of his best chefs, who went to work for courier company.

While he would much rather have spent the last year working full throttle, the popular hotelier has become better acquainted with some of Mullingar’s outdoor amenities during his enforced down time.

“I got myself a bicycle and am trying to keep myself a bit fit. I am really enjoying the greenway. It is absolutely fabulous. I must say, the council have done a fantastic job with it and the canal. It’s spectacular to get out on the canal and see all the wildlife, the cranes and all the other birds. It’s brilliant and has been a real eye opener.”

Proprietor of The Greville Arms Hotel, Christy Maye, has seen a lot over his many years in the hospitality sector, but the Covid-19 has posed a unique set of challenges.

“It is a difficult time for the hospitality business, especially for over 100 of our staff who are out of work. We had to close twice last year – however, we must play our part for the safety of our staff, our customers and the vulnerable in our society,” he told the Westmeath Examiner.

For generations, the Greville Arms has been a place where people have come to meet friends and to mark big occasions, such as weddings and birthdays.

While most functions over the last year had to be cancelled or postponed, Mr Maye is grateful that there were no outbreaks of the virus at the hotel. Paying tribute to his staff, he says that everyone worked to keep the hotel a Covid-free zone.

“We were very lucky. We observed the rules the best we could, including installing an outdoor, heated marquee so we could space customers out. We adapted our main function room for dining, which we found to have worked out very well, as it gave us the necessary space to seat customers apart.

“We had to be careful to adhere to the government regulations as regards all staff wearing masks and taking and recording their temperatures daily, and our air handling system changed the air every 10 minutes in the ballroom/coffee shop area of the hotel.

“We also had a new system, where the entire premises was sanitised using a Elis Sanitising protection treatment, which is an antimicrobial coating that keeps all surfaces germ-free for up to 30 days. This is done before we open as well as all other precautions.”

Mr Maye says that with the vaccine being rolled out and cases numbers falling, he is looking forward to welcoming customers back to The Greville Arms. Hopefully, in the not too distant future.

“We are hoping that the vaccine rollout will help to control the disease and get business back up and running, which is a positive step towards some normality. We left up our Christmas lights until the end of January to help to brighten up the street.

“We are very much aware of the fantastic work of all frontline workers and the difficulty some families are experiencing at the present time. It is a very difficult time for everybody, especially those who are sick or have lost loved ones to the virus.

“I want to thank our staff and customers for their understanding during these very difficult times. Hopefully we will be in a position to welcome back our wonderful customers, friends and staff as soon as possible. Please Mind yourselves and stay safe.”