Can you have a community without craic? Scholars of Ireland’s pubs warn of declining numbers | Ireland

lLike triple-distilled whiskey, Irish pubs exude timeless allure. They play starring roles in films, books and plays, attract tourists to Ireland, replicate themselves around the world and inspire great snuggles and the perfect pint on social media.

Scholars have now made an academic mark on this cultural treasure status by examining and celebrating pubs through the lenses of history, sociology, architecture, psychology, design, art and literature.

Two new books, The Irish Pub: Invention and Reinvention, and The Dublin Pub: A Social and Cultural History, are packed with footnotes, data and lore as they analyze what makes a “perfect pub” and the mysterious alchemy that creates the “craze”.

However, in each case the authors reach a sobering conclusion: Irish pubs are in crisis. They are disappearing from rural Ireland and many are struggling to survive in the capital.

“This feels like a moment of change,” said Donal Fallon, author of The Dublin Pub. “Every Dubliner should drive through rural towns to see what’s going on. The pub has been moved out of its place.”

Perry Share, co-editor of The Irish Pub, a collection of essays by 20 writers, said some villages have lost all their pubs and pubs often disappear in new housing developments. “Planners are not insisting that pubs be established. This could create problems in the future in terms of loneliness and community cohesion.”

Since 2005, Ireland has lost a quarter of its pubs, more than 2,100, with an average of 112 closing each year. Reasons cited include higher taxes on alcohol, drink-driving laws, rising property prices and declining alcohol consumption.

Share, head of the school of social sciences and humanities at Atlantic Technological University, said this is a global phenomenon – traditional bars are closing across the UK and much of Europe and Asia – but the risks are particularly high for Ireland.

“Our society is becoming increasingly fragmented into different interest groups, so it’s important to have these spaces to have conversations based on class and gender,” she said. “It’s okay to express emotions in a certain way in the pub and hold someone and hug them.”

More than half the population lives within 300 meters of Ireland’s remaining 7,000 pubs, and, Share said, pubs remain central to the expression of Irish culture, in novels by authors including Sally Rooney and Paul Murray, in TV shows such as Trespasses and in Hollywood portrayals of Ireland.

He said, “Even though it may be in decline, the pub is still part of everyday life. If it disappears it’s a real loss. People talk about alternatives like coffee shops, but no one says they had the same craze for coffee shops.”

The volume Share, co-edited with Moonyoung Hong, Professor of English at the University of Hong Kong, discusses the development of taverns in the era of Jonathan Swift, the emergence of gay pubs in the 20th century, and the export of Irish-themed pubs from Nepal to Peru.

An essay by Kevin Martin – author of a previous section on pubs entitled ‘Don’t you have any home to go to?’ – 10 elements have been identified for an ideal pub, including “a great pint of Guinness at a reasonable price” and “cordial company when it’s needed and peace when it’s not”.

Social media influencers chronicle searches for the “best” Irish pubs on Instagram and other platforms, but Fallon, a social historian, said he missed the point: “This respect for a handful of places, this ranking system, is often driven by aesthetics rather than an appreciation of the pub itself. It doesn’t have to be the best to be important. It has to be part of its community. If you’ve had the worst day in your life the nearest pub is probably the best pub.”

Fallon’s book highlights colorful stories involving figures such as American photographer Lee Miller, who photographed the Palace Bar while working in Dublin for Vogue in the 1940s, but also discovered and vandalized anonymous, nondescript suburban pubs.

Fallon says that the word pub originated from public house. “There’s a real warmth to that word. It implies a shared space and living space. It captures the collective feeling of what a pub is.”