Madam, – Ann Marie Hourihane hit the nail on the head (Opinion, April 6th), regarding the outrageous price of drink in Irish pubs.
On a recent trip to Dublin I bought two pints of beer in a suburban pub which cost €9.60. In London last week I bought two pints of real ale for £3.58. When was the last time anyone got change from €5 for two pints in Dublin? There seems to be very little price competition between pubs in Ireland.
Whether this is due to price fixing or whether pubs find it necessary in order to turn a profit after paying taxes and the breweries I do not know, but the fact that a pint of Guinness is cheaper in London makes me think otherwise.
The British seem to have revived or maintained a tradition of independent craft brewing which you don’t get in Ireland. I am surprised that more Irish pubs do not brew their own beer to offer customers more choice than the usual Guinness or lager options. The real ale movement doesn’t seem to have caught on in Ireland, but Irish beer drinkers definitely need a grass-roots movement to campaign for their interests. – Yours, etc,