This Irish pub refuses to sell a pint of Guinness for over a fiver

Simon Kelly

Not all heroes wear capes, some serve pints.

It’s been a rough few years for Guinness drinkers, with the price of a pint going up and up with no sign of stopping.

According to a new study, 2024 is even the worst year in terms of the stout-to-wage ratio, with an average weekly salary buying you just 164 pints, compared to 196 in 2007.

Despite all the doom and gloom around the price of a pint, there’s one spot that’s refusing to give in to the price hikes.

The Auld Triangle on Dorset Street in Dublin is keeping pints of Guinness under a fiver, despite Diageo’s newest price increases – their third in 18 months.

This Irish pub refuses to sell a pint of Guinness for over a fiver

Currently, you can enjoy a creamy pint in The Auld Triangle for €4.50, and, even if the new Diageo hikes means that price will have to rise, co-owner Declan Hallissey says he is determined to keep the price under a fiver.

“It’s been relentless in terms of rising costs,” Mr Hallissey told the Irish Daily Mail.

“We’ve have managed to keep our pints under €5 which every day of the week is great for our loyal customers, particularly for a Dublin pub.

“We had to increase our prices by 10c going into Covid so it’s been two years since we had to adjust them. Unfortunately the latest hike will mean that we’ll have to raise the prices again, just like everywhere else.

“You can only hold out for so long, but I can imagine we’ll have to soon charge maybe €4.80, which is still a very good offer.”

It is indeed a very good offer, considering you could find yourself being charged well over €6 for a Guinness in many Dublin pubs these days.

Mr Hallissey continued by saying the reason The Auld Triangle can keep their costs down is due to them only serving alcohol and no food, as well as only having one staff member on at a time.

“We open up at 10.30am every morning and have a steady flow of loyal customers coming and going all day,” he added.

From the middle of April, prices of a pint of Diageo products, which include Guinness, Hop House 13 and Carlsberg, are set to increase by around 6c, with Diageo describing it as necessary to “maintain a sustainable business”.

“Like many, we continue to face increased costs across our business – we have kept these increases to a minimum, but it is required for us to maintain a sustainable business for the future,” a Diageo spokesperson said.

The Vintners’ Federation of Ireland labelled the decision as “the latest hammer blow to the pub trade”, adding that it “underlines the need for Government to introduce further supports for a sector experiencing unprecedented costs pressures”.

We’ll see you down The Auld Triangle, so.