Want A Pint? Better Get Your Pour Soon!

This is a photo I found online, which shows a lengthy lineup of beers on tap at an Irish Pub, which is more than just a place for a beer….it’s a place for communities to gather, a place for people to meet, converse, and share stories and history…

I found a new report however, that offers a stark reality – the traditional Irish Pub is disappearing!

Two new books shed light on the importance of the Irish pub, and the danger they face gong forward!

According to a new report in The Guardian.com:

Since 2005, Ireland has lost a quarter of its pubs, more than 2,100, averaging 112 closures a year. Cited reasons include high taxes on alcohol, drink-driving laws, rising property prices and a fall in alcohol consumption.

Wow! 25% of Ireland’s Pubs have disappeared in the past 20 years!

The numbers are sobering (yes, I used that word on purpose).

Two new books, The Irish Pub: Invention and Reinvention, and The Dublin Pub: A Social and Cultural History, brim with footnotes, data and lore as they analyse what makes a “perfect pub” and the mysterious alchemy that produces what is known as “craic”.

What is “Craic?” It’s “enjoyable social activity; a good time.” And as The Guardian reports, those good times are going away.

“It feels like a moment of transition,” said Donal Fallon, author of The Dublin Pub. “Every Dubliner should drive through rural towns to see what’s happening. The pub has been knocked off its perch.”

Some villages have lost all their pubs and new housing developments often omit pubs, said Perry Share, a co-editor of The Irish Pub, a collection of essays by 20 writers. “Planners are not insisting that pubs be put in. That could create problems in future in terms of loneliness and community cohesion.”

See the whole story here, and please help support The Guardian.com as I do by subscribing…great, insightful reporting all year long!

https://www.theguardian.com/us

Irish pubs aren’t he only ones at risk:

England’s Fish’n’Chip Shops are also at risk!

I shared that story, along with my London food misadventure, here:

These issues are worldwide, as cultural changes put Japan’s Izakaya at risk as well – here’s that story and a look at why Izakaya dining is so much fun:

Here is another iconic institution in Japan that changed:

Tokyo’s famous Tsukiji Fish Market was moved a few years ago…here is a look inside the world’s largest fish market:

And talk about a “dive bar” – literally! Here’s what the kids are doing today in Tokyo!

If you like these stories, why not sign up to receive emails whenever I post? It’s easy to do, I do NOT collect any information about you at all, there are absolutely NO ads of any kind, just stories about movies, music, books, food, travel and pop culture…

You can sign up by clicking on my blog here and see the note on the right!

https://johnrieber.com

I will try to support all the Irish Pubs I can, and if you like the story, please share on social media – thanks!

Categories: Exotic Travel, Food, Food Review, London, Pop Culture, Restaurants, Travel, Travel Adventures, Travel Memoir

Tags: 52 in 22 recipes, 52 recipes in 22, 52 recipes in 52 weeks, adventure eating, Adventure Travel, adventurous travel, Alex Sim Wise Cosplay, Alex Sim-Wise, Alex Sim-Wise shenanigans, Asia, best Europe tourism, best Japanese fish balls, best London fish and chips, best London restaurants, best Okonomiyaki recipes, best squid recipes, Big Ben, Big Ben of London, bite eat repeat website, Bite! Eat! Repeat!, Bite!Eat!Repeat! webiste, biteeatrepeat, closing Irish Pubs, cooking Japanese pub food, Covent Garden, Craic, Dublin Irish pubs, Dublin pubs, english food, fish 'n' chips, fish and chip London shops, fish and chips London, Food, food travel, grilled fish, how to make Japanese pub food, Irish pubs closoing, Irish Pubs disappearing, izakaya cooiking, Izakaya dining, Izakayas in Japan, Japan, Japan Izakaya, japan's unique food, japanese grills fish restaurants, Japanese pub food, Japanese pub food recipes to share, japanese restaurants, London, London England, London losing fish and chips, London restaurants, London street food, London street markets, making the best Japanese pub food, pandemic restaurants reopen, Recipes, Restaurants, sea shell of lesson grove, sea shell of lesson grove reopens, sea shell of Lisbon grove fish and chips shop, Seashell of Lisson Grove, the sea shell of lesson grove fish and chips, Tokyo tourism, Tokyo!, traditional Japanese pub food, travel, travel adventures, travel memoir, wacky food