As the pubs and nightclubs dramatically returned to later closing times, towns and villages across Donegal were full of life as people enjoyed the extra bit of ‘freedom’.
People could go up to the bar and order a pint, masks weren’t necessary when moving from your seat, and the 2m social distancing rule wasn’t enforced.
Many people however, still stayed cautious and distanced themselves as ‘the new normal’, keeping 2m apart where possible and wearing masks.
For Martin Harley, councillor and owner of Harley’s Cheers Bar in Ballybofey, it was a sight for sore eyes seeing the big crowds back but he knows it’s going to be difficult to keep the crowds coming in.
“Please god we’re over it and things can move on, Covid is still not completely gone and it doesn’t disappear overnight so we still have to be careful.
“I’m sure most people are being careful and at the weekend people were still very cautious and tried to keep their distance.
“You’ve had 2 years of restrictions in the hospitality sector, it’s gonna be a challenge getting people to come back out again as people have got used to drinking at home but we’ll give it a few months and we’ll know how it’s affected the turnover.”
Cheers Bar is closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays but has done so for the past 7 years, and the kitchen closed just before Christmas, but they are looking to reopen the kitchen in mid February. Martin however, understands that it will also be difficult to recruit skilled staff.
“It’s gonna be a challenge getting staff again because of the amount of staff that have left the industry, I was talking to someone who had staff for 20-30 years who went in to other jobs and won’t be going back to the hospitality sector
“There’s also a lot of very good staff that has left (the industry) as well.
“It’s a tough environment because you’re working when everyone else is off but there’s still a lot of challenges ahead of the industry.”
It came as a surprise to many when the announcement was made last Friday and the quick turnaround was tough enough for those bars open, as they were short staffed at the weekend. But around the county there are many places that will be hoping to reopen for the first time since March 2020 but last weekend came too soon for them.
Martin said: “We thought we’d be open (fully) Monday at the earliest or even the following Friday.
“I know there’s places in Ballybofey that closed on the 15th of March and haven’t opened since so for those premises and ones throughout the county, they’d have to get servicemen to clean the lines and get the bar stocked, get ready for operating and get a staff rota done up.
“They had no opportunity to get going on Saturday so maybe this weekend they’ll be back, I’m sure the servicemen were flat to the mat from 9am this morning and some of them could be opening for the first time in 22 months.”
