In the hours after the Government announced the lifting of Kildare's lockdown, locals in Leixlip strolled the streets where the strict restrictions had taken their toll.
Vacant shop fronts were in evidence and there were padlocks on the door of the Courtyard Hotel while Town, a recently refurbished gastropub, was still only advertising takeouts.
"It's been so difficult. It's the first of September tomorrow. We thought it would all be over by now," said Mark Kennedy.
“A lot of businesses have closed,” said his wife Jill. “We know a boutique that has closed down. There is a lot of derelict buildings around.”
Localised lockdown measures were announced for Counties Kildare, Laois and Offaly on August 7th. Laois and Offaly emerged from lockdown on August 21st but restrictions remained in place in Kildare until they were lifted with immediate effect on Monday.
No frenzy of activity ensued, however.
There were signs of life in Da Vinci’s Italian restaurant on Main Street, where half a dozen diners were in for an early evening meal.
Manager Aurelia Cojocaru said the staff all live locally, and when the news the lockdown was lifting came through at 5pm, they were ready for action.
“We are very happy,” she said. “We were able to work with a takeaway, but we were upset with the restaurant being closed. Everybody was delighted that we could open up with immediate effect.”
Faye Wang, the owner of the Allendale Chinese restaurant, said she was just going to continue her takeaway service, but then a regular customer called.
“He said, ‘I want to come in. I have been locked down for ages’. I couldn’t really say no,” she said.
“The lockdown was bad for us because we had to cancel on customers, especially a 40th birthday party.
“I don’t know how to react anymore. I am hoping that this will be the last time we are locked down. The first time was tougher because you didn’t know if it is going to be lifted. The second time you kind of get used to it.”
Leixlip sits at the border between Kildare and Dublin. The Salmon Leap Inn is on the Dublin side of the bridge. And, even on Monday afternoon, there was a very healthy trade.
In normal circumstances, with so many other pubs closed, it should have been boomtime for owner Cathal O Shea, but he said: "I was reared in a pub. I hate to see any pub closed down. I'd rather see them all open then all closed."
“It’s awkward. There’s so many restrictions and you are trying to go by the guidelines.
“You can only have half the numbers in the place. Once all the tables are full, you have to turn them around in an hour and 45 minutes.”
He has doubled the capacity of his pub by turning the car park into an outdoor restaurant with old horseboxes and a fire engine converted into a pizza oven. Necessity is truly the mother of invention in these strange times.
