Ten Donegal pubs served last pints last year against backdrop of drastic decline over two decades
Ten Donegal pubs served their last pints last year against a backdrop of a 28.5 per cent decline in the number of local hostelries in the county over the past twenty years.
Research from the Drinks Industry Group of Ireland (DIGI) shows that the number of Donegal locals fell from 334 to 324 between 2024 and 2025.
Over the longer term the situation is much more drastic with the 129 pubs calling last orders for good between 2005 and 2025. That’s a decline from 453 licensed establishments to 324.
The situation in the North West is reflected throughout the country, particularly in rural counties.
A new report compiled for DIGI by Economist and Associate Professor Emeritus at DCU, Anthony Foley, shows that an average of 110 pubs stopped trading every year over the last two decades.
All 26 counties experienced declines in pub numbers over the 2005 to 2025 period. The highest decrease was in Limerick (-37.2%), followed by Offaly (-34.1%) Cork (-32.7%), Roscommon (-32.3%), Tipperary (-32.0%), Laois (-30.6%), Longford (-30.1%) and Westmeath (-30.0%).
The lowest decrease was in Dublin with a drop of -1.1%, followed by Wicklow with a decrease of -9.5%. Meath had a decrease of 11.4% and all other counties saw a 13% or greater decrease.
In his recent budget the Finance Minister Simon Harris announced a €15m scheme aimed at supporting rural pubs following calls from DIGI, vintners and the hospitality sector.
Professor Tony Foley said: “Over the past 20 years the Irish economy has grown substantially, including large employment, consumption and adult population increases, despite multiple economic shocks and geopolitical disruption.
“This growth should have supported the alcohol and public house sectors. However, both alcohol consumption and pub sales volumes declined substantially.”
Commenting on the new report, DIGI secretary, Donall O’Keeffe said: “Over the past 20 years we have seen a decimation in the number of pubs operating across Ireland. This has been particularly damaging to the social, economic and cultural life of rural Ireland. They are also a huge loss to our tourism offer. Without government intervention, this trend will continue and potentially accelerate.”