How do pub owners in Ireland make a profit?

Question

The towns are small, and the pubs are aplenty as I've experienced first hand. Especially in a town like Kilkenny that has 65 pubs per 8,000 people, how does one make any profit running a pub in Ireland with so much competition? I've almost never been in a crowded Irish pub! Do you just break even? Is it your second job?

Answer 1

Margins are high.  They really make it though on celebrations and holidays though.  And the tourist trade.

Answer 2

Another key to this business is horribly painful dedication by the owner-operators.  It would be interesting to poll those folks to see exactly what sorts of hours they put in a week, every week, and break down their income at an hourly rate based on that. I would venture a guess that almost any high school student working at a fast food restaurant might equal their hourly wage.   While profit can be made, even in an oversaturated marketplace, the job is a difficult and thankless one, especially for an owner without a love for it.

Answer 3

High margins are important, but another big part of it is that pubs are central to Irish culture and socializing.  In country (non-tourist area) pubs, you'll still see whole families go into pubs on Sunday nights.  I'm not sure why you've never been in a crowded Irish bar... pubs in cities are mobbed a lot of the time and in the country, like I said, whole families go.  I do agree, though, that in Kilkenny, it's primarily the tourist trade.  Kerry is a HUGE tourist destination, and Kilkenny is considered the "doorway" to a lot of Kerry sights, so most tourists stay there.

It's certainly not a pub-owners "second job"!  I've known quite a few Irish pub owners (both in Ireland and in the US), and in both countries, they have to work incredibly hard to make the pub successful.  It can be done, though!