Covid Lockdown: Derry pub owner reflects on a tough year but remains optimistic

A local publican who led the way by closing ahead of St. Patrick's Day last year has described the past twelve months as a ‘disaster’ for business but is optimistic about reopening ‘early summer’.

It is twelve months since Derry pubs took the tough decision to close because of the risks posed by Covid-19.

Pressure was mounting on the British and NI Governments to act when the first Coronavirus cases emerged in the UK in January and NI at the end of February, 2020.

Before the government issued any formal directive for businesses to shut, the owners of Peadar O’Donnell’s announced that they would shut its doors on March 15, 2020.

Assessing the past year, joint-owner William McGuinness said: “It’s been a disaster for us, it’s been a disaster for everybody.

“What can you say, it’s the same for everybody.  Hospitality has been the worst hit.

“A lot of people can work from home and people can go on furlough and get a big percentage of their wages.

“But pub owners like ourselves who aren’t a limited company, our income has just stopped.”

William McGuinness and his business partner Phil Nolan took the decision to close two days before the busiest date on the calendar for Irish bars - St Patrick’s Day.

They did so in the interests of public health. 

The men also own The Gweedore and Fifty Seven nightclub which sit next door to Peadar’s on Waterloo Street.

Along with other publicans in the city, they took a ‘massive’ financial hit by closing.

At the time British Prime Minister Boris Johnson stalled before announcing that all non-essential businesses would close on March 23 – his delayed response was viewed as a mistake.

Speaking to the Derry News over the weekend, Mr McGuinness said he didn’t expect to be closed a full year later.

“I don’t think anybody could have thought it would be like this a year down the line.  We were hoping for some kind of resolution in the summer, whatever that would have been,” he added.

While open for a five-week period when restrictions were eased the atmosphere wasn’t the same.

Mr McGuiness explained: “We’re used to big crowds of people enjoying the live music. 

“But when we had to put social distancing in place our capacity was slashed even more than other people because it was standing room only in Paedar’s for people at the weekend.

“So people sitting two metres apart just wasn’t viable for us.”

The Derry man previously said the business had taken a ‘massive hit’.

Since then it has received ‘a bit more help’ in terms of financial support from the government and workers have been supported through the furlough scheme.

“From a personal point of view, Phil and me are sole traders and we haven’t received anything but we’re a victim of our own success because that’s based on business up to 2020,” he said.

SUMMER PINTS

Stormont ministers recently agreed additional funding to support businesses and jobs during the pandemic.

Finance Minister Conor Murphy proposed extending rates relief for another 12 months for almost 30,000 businesses, in a package worth £230m.

Mr McGuiness said pubs couldn’t be charged rates as it is based on the annual level of turnover and that amounts to ‘zero’ at present.

He’s happy to put 2020 in the rear-view mirror and hopes to return to ‘some sort of normality’ in 2021.

The reopening of all businesses will be informed by the NI Executive’s five-step plan for easing the Covid-19 lockdown restrictions.

In England some pubs could open as early as April 12 and hospitality venues in Scotland on April 26. 

NI's ‘pathway’ does not include a timetable but will depend on public health criteria being met.

The Executive will review its restrictions each month starting tomorrow and continuing until June 10.

Based on the easing of restrictions in the past it’s anticipated that pubs will be at the back of the queue.

Mr McGuinness believes the ideal scenario is to see punters with a fresh pint of Guinness in their hands on Waterloo Street by early summer.

“We’re hoping to get back to some sort of normality this year,” he said. “The vaccine programme seems to be going well but it’s a bit of an unknown quantity with these variants.

“The government is being very careful about reopening because of the fear of another spike and that’s understandable.”

He continued: “It’s likely that bars that don’t serve food will be the last to open again but the last time it was a bit of a fiasco, it just didn’t work because people were anxious to get out.

“I have my eyes set on early summer.

“The Council and City Centre Initiative are trying to come up with schemes to make outside drinking a bit more appealing so hopefully that will help.”