A Limerick publican has insisted that he will open his pub on Monday July 20 'with or without government approval'.
Gearoid Whelan of Whelan's Bar took to Twitter today to share a video of his beer garden 'all set' to open on Monday despite the fact that the government has delayed phase 4 of the reopening by three weeks.
https://twitter.com/whelansbar1/status/1284428476590817282?s=20
Earlier this week, Gearoid tweeted that as long as the airports remain open he will proceed with his plans to open the pub, writing:
'If a texan can come into Ireland and go where he likes our door is open to our customers who we have served for almost 70 years.'
https://twitter.com/whelansbar1/status/1283553604088082434?s=20
The move has been met with a mixed reaction online. While some support the pub's stance, encouraging other small pubs to follow suit, others feel this will only cause further delays to the reopening process.
https://twitter.com/RoTierneyCrowe/status/1284463451721674752?s=20
https://twitter.com/Caolan1983/status/1284476346731765760?s=20
Ireland's four-phase reopening plan had originally set out that all pubs could open on Monday July 20. However last week it was announced by government that we will not be moving on to phase four until August.
Currently, only pubs that serve a "substantial meal" that costs €9 or more are allowed to open, and customers may only stay on the premises for a total of 105 minutes.
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