Revealed: The number of Mayo pubs closed down since 2005

More than one-quarter of Mayo’s pubs have shut their doors in the past two decades, according to a new survey.

The study, commissioned by the Drinks Industry Group of Ireland (DIGI), found that 135 pubs in Mayo had ceased trading between 2005 and 2024, a decline of 28.9%. There are now 332 pubs in the county compared to 467 in 2005.

Between 2019 and 2024, 40 Mayo pubs shut down (a 10.8% decline), which suggests that the problem has worsened in recent years, although there is some hope in the fact that there were no pub closure in the county last year.

Elsewhere in the West, 45 Sligo pubs have ceased trading since 2005, 129 have closed in Co Galway and 82 in Co Roscommon.

There were 179 pubs in Co Sligo in 2005 compared to 134 last year (a 25% decline). Co Roscommon has experienced a 32% drop off with 172 pubs operating there in 2024 compared to 254 back in 2005. Even Galway, which has a very buoyant tourism sector, has seen its pub numbers fall by 22.5%. There were 574 pubs trading in Co Galway in 2003 compared to 445 almost two decades ago.

Nationally, more than 2,100 pubs across the country have closed since 2005, meaning that an average of 112 pubs stopped trading every year over the last 20 years.

Former Charlestown publican and Sinn Fein councillor Gerry Murray said the figures highlight how the concerns raised by the pub trade for decades have been ignored.

“The industry has been fighting this for 30 years, looking for reforms to make life much easier. Unlike any other retail sector, a pub has to have its licence renewed every September. In order to have it renewed you have to have a tax clearance certificate. All that is pressure. Places have the threat of closure hanging over their head every September,” said Cllr Murray.

The long-serving councillor said there are many factors that discourage people from getting into the pub trade.

“A lot of pubs have closed and people might think then why aren’t they leased. But every time you transfer a licence there is a new fire certificate required and if the regulations have changed in the meantime you have to comply with those regulations.

“The other issue is that you lease a pub and don’t have a sufficient deposit you can find yourself liable for any outstanding tax or VAT,” he added.

Cllr Murray said “nobody in the industry” is surprised by the findings of the latest study.

In its report, DIGI concluded that the number of pubs in Ireland is continuing decline, with 2,119 - or one in four - closing their doors since 2005.

It shows that between 2005 and 2024 the number of publican licences in Ireland declined by almost 25%, from 8,617 to 6,498.

According to the research, all 26 counties in the Republic of Ireland experienced declines in pub numbers over the 2005 to 2024 period, with the rate of closure highest in rural counties.