Should Pubs Open Late on Sunday? Co. Wicklow, Ireland 1972

People in Wicklow town give their views on whether pubs should be allowed to serve drink for an extra hour on a Sunday night.

On a Sunday pubs observe the traditional ′holy hour′ closing from 2 -4 pm and they close at 10 pm. Publicans and members of the tourist industry would like to see the licensing laws changed to extend closing time to 11 pm. Is it time to amend the 1962 Intoxicating Liquor Act?

People in Wicklow Town have mixed opinions about the prospect of an extra hour in pubs on a Sunday night.

I think they should be open all night.

A number of those interviewed see no harm in pubs closing at 11 pm. However many people think the law should be left as it is.

Really I think 10 o’clock is late enough on a Sunday night.

One man even suggests the law be changed to close pubs at 9 pm on a Sunday.

Two priests do not think an extra hour on a Sunday would make much of a difference for tourists in the country. One of them suggests standardising pub opening and closing times across the entire week would be more helpful for tourism purposes.

The abolition of the ‘holy hour’ and pubs permitted to serve drink until 11 pm on Sunday night came into operation on 6 July 2000.

This episode of ‘Hall’s Pictorial Weekly’ was broadcast on 8 March 1972. The reporter is George Devlin.