Today is a dark day in Irish history.
On this day twenty years ago Nanny brought in the smoking ban in all public buildings including pubs in Ireland. This was the start of the rash that spread around the planet leading in turn to the start of the rapid decline in public houses particularly in Ireland and the UK.
There was no sound reason for this ban. It was introduced as a result of personal prejudices, disinformation and downright lies. Since then of course the ban planted the seed of distrust and, in some cases, of hatred for the smoker. The propaganda machine went into relentless overdrive until eventually the lies are taken by the vast majority to be the truth.
Another aspect of the ban was that it removed the basic right of a publican to decide how to run his [or her] business. This should be a fundamental right of any property owner to set their own rules, but not only did this ban ride roughshod over this right, it also forced the owner to police the very law that was heavily impacting on their own business. It also gave Nanny a taste of the power they could impose on the public.
It was a sad day for pubs and, in particular, rural pubs which used to be the social hub. Now a lot of those pubs that survived the onslaught became “gastro pubs” where the single person looking for a bit of social contact was frowned upon unless they ordered a meal.
It was a bad day for publicans. They were promised in the propaganda that the ban would lead to a huge increase in custom. Of course the opposite happened.
I wonder if, in hindsight, they would have accepted the ban so readily?