Pub Culture

Pub Culture

By Eimear Laffan , 8 Aug 2002

Friday July 26th saw the opening of a new bar in Galway. Reflecting the modern decor, the bar was given a rather contemporary name, and so `The Living Room' was born. The interior is rather chic and stylish, reflecting the some 3 million Euros that was ploughed in to its' conception.

During the afternoon and early evening `The Living Room' has a restaurant section. While popular at these times it is the night time hours that have attracted the most custom with queues lining up outside at various times during the last week or so. Packed inside, the atmosphere has definitely been buzzing, the clientele being predominantly young professionals. The group behind the venture has every reason to be assured that the cosy new room in their house of bars has a very bright future indeed.

The group in question is `Galway Taverns', a prosperous coterie which is responsible for other well known entertainment venues in the city including the King's Head, the Cellar Bar and Cuba nightclub. All popular and well-known drinking spots, `Galway Taverns' is beginning to make a name for itself.

Are we in danger of adopting the chain bar at the expense of the traditional pub? In the UK leading pub chain group J. D. Wetherspoon currently operates over 450 pubs. While Ireland's chains are nowhere near this size, chain owned bars are the emerging trend. Capital Bars plc see a significant proportion of the night-time revellers in the capital owning several bars among them Bobs, Café en Seine and The George. There is a distinct danger of creating an industry that is controlled by few.

The other argument is that these bars would become similar with little to distinguish one from another. Staff in some of these bars wear similar t-shirts plugging what would otherwise be seen as the competition. `Galway Taverns' would disagree that any of the bars in their group are similar. But does the reason for the success of chain bars lie in giving customers what they want and in having the backing that enables them to do so? Clearly there is huge capital involved. Yet while a customer might be attracted to a certain kind of bar, if given an option, few would support the idea of a chain of bars.

The good news is that all four Galway venues are independently run and that given the large number of bars and pubs in Galway, these particular bars still account for only a minute percentage of the total.

However, it is inevitable that we see co-operative strategies such as free passes or stamps for Cuba nightclub been given out in the other bars. We already see this on a regular basis. Moreover, we do need to keep a close eye on this trend. We don't want our ancestors wondering what happened to the postcard local pubs of the old days.

Why do many people even have a local? Because it's comfortable and convenient. The majority of pubs and bars have their own sense of individuality. This is why we like a particular one above another and why we frequent our local more often than we should.

`The Living Room' is definitely not The Lisheen, the old style pub that used to occupy the same space. You will not find a quiet pint of Guinness here. Small and cosy, cheap and cheerful, The Lisheen was indicative of the more widely perceived image of an Irish pub. It had live traditional music on a frequent basis and always attracted a good combination of tourists and locals. If you were a local and a regular, it was likely that everybody knew you name.

Whether `The Living Room' will prove lucrative in the long run remains to be seen but all signs currently point towards success. Time will also tell if the phenomenon of chain bars is here to stay. Meanwhile my pint awaits me...

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