Town & country

With some form of smoking ban now certain across the rest of the British Isles, James Wilmore went to Ireland to find out how licensees are coping.

In just three year's time, many pubs in England could be smoke-free zones. Action in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland is expected to come in sooner - and licensees the length and breadth of the British Isles are fearing for their futures.

Rewind a couple of years and pubs in Ireland were faced with the same situation. Of course, the industry lobbied hard against it, but a blanket ban eventually came into force in March 2004.

With the fug still clearing, I travelled to Ireland earlier this month to see how pubs are coping, 16 months down the line.

To provide a snapshot of life outside Dublin, I visited Portlaoise - a town about an hour's train journey west of the capital. Here I found a mood of resignation among the licensees that I spoke to. "It's absolutely killed my day and evening trade," said John Holmes, licensee at Sally Gardens, in the town centre. "I've had to spend e55,000 (£37,000) on a smoking area just to keep up, but my takings are probably down by about 40 per cent." As a result, John tells me, he has laid off two part-time staff.

A similar picture emerged in the handful of pubs I visited across the town. Down the road at Lockey's Bar, licensee Andy Dollard told me the new legislation was having a negative effect for him. "To me, it's crazy. It's destroyed the atmosphere in pubs - the craic - because when people go outside for a fag, they come back and the conversation has changed," he explained. "It seems a lot more people are drinking at home and have been put off coming to the pub."

Even though he has built a smoking shelter, which includes a bar, Andy has still had to lay off one full-timer and one part-timer.

A few doors down from Lockey's is O'Donoghue's, run by president of the Licensed Vintners Association, Seamus O'Donoghue. He was not surprised by what I had encountered and suggested that, although trade had come back a bit since the ban, overall it is still down. "It's been very difficult for pubs in a land-locked situation, where you can't have smoking facilities outside. These have been the ones that have been hit the hardest," he said.

Seamus claimed there were 7,600 fewer people working in the hospitality industry now, since the ban was introduced. "And this is at time when the rest of the economy is driving forward," he added.

It is not too late, Seamus believes, for the Irish government to revert to a compromise ban, where smokers are allowed a separate smoking room."It's a horrible sight with smokers huddled around outside, it certainly doesn't do anything for the trade and for the people themselves," he argued.

City lessons​

But within hours, the gloomy picture painted by licensees in Portlaoise had begun to fade as I was told some much cheerier tales in Dublin.

Pubs in the capital are learning to adapt and work with the restrictions - and in some cases trade has even improved since the ban.

In particular, outlets in the famous Temple Bar area seem to have weathered the storm. Robert MCarthy, manager at the Quays Bar, said his trade had been helped by the ban.

"It's attracted new people into pubs and I've had a lot of English people say they actually prefer a smoke-free atmosphere," he said. "My staff are feeling the health benefits of it the next day as well, working in a smokeless environment."

Similarly for Mark Moran, manager at Bruxelles, off Grafton Street, where trade has remained the same. The pub benefits from a large smoking area outside, meaning customers can still feel part of the pub atmosphere. "My staff love it, because most of them don't smoke," said Mark.

And at the Temple Bar, supervisor Erin Murphy said the ban had been "fantastic" for the pub. "It's better all round really," she added. "Obviously people complained at first, because they don't like change. But it's things like not having to clean dirty ashtrays that make the difference."

But not all licensees in the city are fans of the ban.

Across the River Liffey, at the Bachelor Inn, trade has fallen by around 20 per cent, according to barman John Buckley. "We're a working man's pub and we're land-locked, which doesn't help," said John.

Embracing the ban​

But the Bachelor Inn proved to be the exception as the majority of other pubs seemed to have adapted to and even embraced the ban. In many ways, with so many people stood outside of pubs it gave Dublin a distinct, buzzy, continental feel.

The majority of pubs have gone some way to try to adapt and make the most of the restrictions the ban has placed on them.

A final shining example was Johnnie Fox's, up in Glencullen in the Dublin mountains. The pub, which is a famous tourist spot and lays claim to being the highest in the country, has a double-decker bus in its car park for smokers. Though currently closed due to health and safety reasons, it reveals the positive steps that can be taken to accommodate smokers.

Signs also adorn the walls of the pub, suggesting smokers can make new friends by going outside for a puff.

"The ban is a positive thing and the staff have definitely found it better," said the pub's business development head Fred Rainert.

And his parting advice on how other pubs should deal with the ban was: "Look at ways to adapt and move on and if you have to make changes, use them in the best way possible."

With bans in the UK approaching fast, it's probably worth heeding that advice.

What do smokers think?​

• Phil Boyne, 45, Dublin:​ "The ban has done me a favour to be honest. Before I used to go to the pub for a night and smoke about 20 fags, now I probably smoke about three.

"Because I'm not going into a smoky atmosphere, I don't feel the need to smoke as much. When the ban first came in, I was against it and I thought 'sod this', but now I'm really in favour."

Ricky Cunningham, 22, outside the Temple Bar, Dublin:​ "It's inconvenient having to come outside, but it means I smoke less. Normally I would smoke about 20, whereas now I smoke about 10."

Thomas Kenny, 21, outside the Temple Bar, Dublin:​ "It's a Catch 22, because I don't really smoke. But when a girl I fancy goes out for a cigarette I tend to go out for a fag to keep the conversation going."

Ailbhe Stephens, 20s, Dublin:​ "I find it a real pain. If you're in a busy bar it can be a nuisance to force your way outside. But I have cut down a bit and I find myself still having cigarettes left from the night before."