The new good Friday: ‘I’ll lament its passing’

Some are calling it the end of an era; others the start of a different kind of party. Either way, the so-called Good Friday “booze ban” is no more, for the first time in 90 years.

Legislation passed in the Dáil in January has now amended the Intoxicating Liquor Act, ending the ban on the sale of alcohol for Good Friday.

For the wider public, it means that the search for the “forbidden fruit” of a Good Friday pint is consigned to history. Where once bars, restaurants, hotels and nightclubs would either close for Good Friday or offer food without libations, now it’s expected that Good Friday will, in the future, be merely business as usual.

In previous years, railway stations, off-licences, theatres and the greyhound track, all exempt from the legislation, had a Good Friday that was very different from other business. We spoke to some of them to recount Good Fridays past, and speculate on what their future, with its newly relaxed licensing laws, might look like.

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The hoteliers

Fergus O'Halloran, managing director of The Twelve, Freeport, Barna, Galway; and Patrick Joyce, general manager of the Morrison Hotel, Ormond Quay, Dublin

In the Morrison Hotel, Joyce notes that Good Friday was one of the strongest days of the year, as “everyone in-house was a captive guest”.

“We’ll probably see a drop in business this year, but hopefully for our guests, everything will be open and they can sample a lot of attractions on the day.”

Despite losing the busy day, Joyce isn’t worried about the hotel’s bottom line: “To be honest, the rooms side of the business will be strong. You’d be more interested in people having an overall positive experience of the city.”

Barna’s Twelve Hotel, meanwhile, finds itself in a unique position of not just being a hotel, but the site of the local village pub.

“From day one we decided not to open our gastrobar on Good Friday as it would be too messy, with people coming in for food and not drink. We decided to open West (restaurant) at 4pm on Good Friday to the public, and we would always serve wine, as long as they were having a meal.

“We got away with it in Galway, as Judge Mary Fahy threw a case out of court (in 2008, Judge Fahy decided not to prosecute restaurants on Quay Street which offered wine to customers with their meals on Good Friday, calling the idea “ludicrous”).

As the chair of the Restaurant Association of Ireland, O’Halloran lobbied strongly against the booze ban.“We didn’t benefit on Good Friday by any means,” he notes. “We had to close our busiest outlet and it was a real ordeal having to inform your guests.

“Some say we’re losing our identity, and it’s the last bastion of Irishness or Catholicism or whatever, but just because it was an essentially Irish thing doesn’t make it a good thing. It’s the right time to change.”

The tourist attraction

Maurice Conway, general manager of the Irish Whiskey Museum, Grafton Street, Dublin 2

The Irish Whiskey Museum settled on a novel approach to Good Friday tours, offering a whiskey tasting without the… well, whiskey tasting.

“We’d talk about the history of whiskey, then the distillation process, then the tasting, and we’d have to tailor the last bit at the end,” Conway smiles. “It was always a bit of a challenge for the guide. Hopefully in 10 years we’ll be laughing about how we used to run dry tours.”

“In previous years, punters thought it might be a clever way to circumvent the forbidden pint, and bookings were always healthy on the day as a result.

“I like the idea of a non-alcoholic day in Ireland, though not for religious reasons. It would be nice to get rid of the perception that all we do is drink.”

The restaurateurs

Erik Robson, who co-owns Ely Wine Bar, Ely Place, Dublin; and Joe Macken, owner of the Jo' Burger group

Having closed on Good Friday in years past, Erik Robson admits that he has “no idea” what to expect from this Easter weekend.

“I imagine there will be a bit of a bank holiday feel to the Friday as opposed to the Thursday,” he says. “From our point of view, [the ban] would have been quite disruptive to staff, stock, and rosters. It was a real headache. And Saturday and Sunday wouldn’t necessarily pick up terribly much.”

Robson also observes that in many ways, the “forbidden fruit” element of finding a drink on Friday was part of the fun for revellers.

“There was the old country way, drinking gin out of a teacup in case the local superintendent showed up,” he says. “Out of pure mischief, you were almost obliged to go and figure a way around it.”

Joe Macken says: “I can say with clear conscience that we served beer and wine in all our places since they first opened 10 years ago. It was a silly religious overbear. We used to say to people that it would be a normal day for us.”

The venue promoter

Mark Murphy, owner of the Sugar Club, Leeson Street, Dublin 2

“We’re a bit different to a club per se, as we’re a theatre, so often we’re at the mercy of the quality of the event that we have on,” explains Murphy.

This year, he has little reason to worry, as the Sugar Club is showing the film La Haine, with a live sonorisation of the French film's original soundtrack by Asian Dub Foundation.

“We always had a really strong Thursday before. I think the Friday show might affect spend on the Saturday, but in the long run I think it will be good for everyone.”

The dog track director

Philip Peake, director of hospitality services, Irish Greyhound Board

In years past, the Irish Greyhound Board used the alcohol-ban exemption at its tracks as a promotional tool.

“Where can a punter in Dublin get a pint on Good Friday?” read the title of the board’s press release in 2017, pointing out that bars and restaurants at tracks in Dublin, Limerick, Galway and at least nine other locations would be holding race nights and serving alcohol.

“It’s been a very strong day for us for the last number of years,” acknowledges Peake. “People are looking for an outlet and something fun to do, and it did open us to a different audience. In another way, it was positive from a fundraising perspective, as people organising dogs race nights were keen to book early as they knew they’d get a big attendance.”

This year, bookings are already healthy; as the change in legislation wasn’t announced until January, some fundraising groups had already put plans in place.

“It will definitely have an impact,” says Peake. “What level of impact is hard to say. We compete with the sporting market for 51 weeks of the year, so this will be no different.”

The theatre

Roisin McGann, spokesperson for the Abbey Theatre, Dublin

Because of theatre licensing, theatergoers could enjoy a Good Friday drink along with their production – although they weren’t permitted to stay in the bar drinking after the show.

"We've a healthy house booked in for The Unmanageable Sisters that night this year," explains McGann. "The change hasn't had any noticeable effect on sales for the performance that night, so no difference for us. Although we were permitted to sell alcohol on Good Friday, it generally wasn't a busier night at the Abbey, just business as usual."

The railway bar manager

Joe Hayes, manager of Madigan’s, Connolly Station

As the law permitted the sale of alcohol to passengers travelling by sea, air, rail or ferry, Madigan’s often expected a rush of ticket-holding customers on Good Friday, going so far as to hire extra staff and door security.

“An awful lot of customers wouldn’t be older and have the free (travel) pass, so they’d get a ticket and sit in for the day,” says Hayes. “A few people would get on the Belfast train, go up and make a day of it, stay overnight and have drinks all the way.”

This year, Hayes expects a change of pace. “I’d say all the ones that would have come in would go to their local pub where they are comfortable and happy,” he says. “I don’t think my bosses will worry about profits – they would have been very happy with my turnover for the year, and six of their other branches would have been closed on Good Friday. They’ll be happy to see them open.”

The off-licence owner

Ken Butler, owner, Drinkstore, Stoneybatter, Dublin 7

Drinkstore is a specialist off-licence and, by Butler’s admission, might not enjoy the annual bumper day that more commercial off licenses have traditionally enjoyed.

“Ten or 15 years ago, there would have been queues out the door on Holy Thursday, but I think a lot more was made out of Good Friday then. Holy Thursday is never a manic day these days, nowhere near Christmas at any rate.

“Essentially, you did two days’ work in one, which compensated for being closed on Friday.

“It will be interesting to see what happens this Thursday. I reckon things will be pretty normal. In some ways, it was nice for everyone to be closed: people who worked in the drinks service industry were all of, and it was like a day out for us. In some respects, I’ll lament its passing.”