SOCIAL HISTORY:The authors of 'Vanishing Ireland', Turtle Bunberry and James Fennell, have turned their attention to pub culture in a handsome new book, 'The Irish Pub', just published by Thames & Hudson
'IN AFFLUENT new Ireland, rural pubs are so yesterday". That was the headline of an article published by the Washington Postnot long ago. So that's it. Our cover is blown. No longer can we fool the Americans that we live on a verdant green island replete with mischievous shebeens where old men guffaw into creamy black pints and red-cheeked children ring rosies around the turf fire to the sound of giddy fiddles.
Don't get me wrong. You will still find that sort of carry-on if you hunt for it. Thank goodness. But, by and large, the Irish Pub of our wistful imagination no longer exists. For one thing, you'd be hard pushed to find a decent turf fire in any of the 10,000 pubs currently operating in Ireland, north and south of the Border.
Over the past two years, photographer James Fennell and I have been searching for classic old-style pubs across the country in a bid to preserve some record of what has essentially become an extremely endangered species. Legend has it that at least one Irish pub closes every day. And for every pub that has closed, a dozen more have been hurriedly "modernised", with salt and pepper canisters on every table, homogenous fitted furniture, charmless staff and obscenely giant plasma screens that deafen all within.
The traditional pub is not ideally suited to modern Ireland. Indeed, it's hard to think of any area of Irish society that has changed more during the first eight years of this topsy-turvy century. The entire pub experience has back-flipped and, in many case, belly-flopped. Everyone has a theory as to what went wrong. The ban on smoking in public places, combined with the crackdown on drink-driving, certainly brought a sad but necessary end to the more carefree attitude of days gone by.
As drinkers, we've become more pernickety. Unlike our tribal elders who never had a choice, we are inclined to spend our money sipping Merlot at home or guzzling cocktails on a distant beach rather than blowing it all down the local. Moreover, as the Washington Post correspondent noted, creaky old pubs just don't suit a new generation brought up on iPhones and Facebook.
None of this has made life any easier for the publican. Michael Smyth, who runs a much-loved music lounge in Newtown, Co Carlow, reckons the days of the country pub are definitely numbered. "Paying rates, electricity, heating, public liability insurance, the long hours . . . it just doesn't add up."
For many publicans, there is a temptation to sell the licence to one of the insatiable pub chains or supermarkets stomping across the land. "It's a tremendous pity," says Michael, "because it was a great help to people who live down lanes and in farms . . . that they could come out here and talk and hear the news."
The Irish Pubis not a "best of" book. It is intended to be an insight into the fading world of the old-style Irish pubs and a cautionary tale for anyone who still takes them for granted.
• The Irish Pub is published by Thames & Hudson (€30). Irish Timesreaders can avail of a 10 per cent discount price from Dubray Books by visiting www.dubraybooks.ie/offer and entering 'irishpub'