A few major upsets here.
Mayo is officially the county with the most number of pubs-per-person in Ireland.
The latest AIB Pubs Outlook has revealed that the Westerners’ county has one pub for every 323 people, while Dublin has one for every 1,649 people.
Add to that the fact that there’s a greater demand for elaborate cocktails in the capital and what you get are some pretty exhausted bartenders.
Coming in second place to Mayo is Co. Kerry with one pub for every 344 people, followed Tipperary with 350 and Clare with 383.
So without further ado, here’s the breakdown of which counties have the most pubs per person:
1. Mayo – 323 people per pub
2. Kerry – 344
3. Tipperary – 350
4. Clare – 383
5. Cavan/ Monaghan – 407
6. Roscommon – 417
= Donegal – 417
8. Longford/ Westmeath – 451
9. Sligo/ Monaghan – 469
10. Carlow/ Kilkenny – 506
= Galway – 506
12. Waterford – 517
13. Cork – 543
14. Wexford – 548
15. Limerick – 549
16. Offaly – 696
17. Laois – 713
18. Louth – 787
19. Meath – 883
20. Wicklow – 934
21. Kildare – 1261
22. Dublin – 1649
The Pubs Outlook report looks at the pub industry’s current form, and has found that while there is “stability and demand” for pubs in counties such as Dublin, Cork, Galway and Limerick, rural pubs are facing much greater challenges at present.
The report also found that Dublin has been the quickest county to recover from the economic downturn, followed by other cities nationwide. Despite this fact, both rural and urban pubs continue to face an uphill struggle, according to Tony Morrissey.
Morrissey, the managing director of pub specialist auctioneering firm Morrissey’s Auctioneers, commented on the report: “If a pub is not turning over €8,000-€9,000 a week in rural areas, then it’s going to be very difficult to survive. The same is true of Dublin and if a pub is not turning over between €12,000 and €13,000 a week, it’s in trouble.
“Although the craft beer market still only represents 4% of the overall market for beer, it’s growing and many pubs now have to offer a number of craft beers to their customers who clearly favour them over the traditional brands,” he said, while adding that the same is often the case for spirits.
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