Almost 40% of Dubliners visit pub at least once a week, says survey
A total of 39% of adults in Dublin said they visited a pub weekly or more often, according to a new survey.
A total of 552 Dubliners were interviewed for the survey, which found that 21% attend fortnightly and 40% go at least once a month.
The Behaviour and Attitudes study on behalf of the Licensed Vintners Association also reported that two out of three Dublin drinkers have a pub they call their ‘local’.
Three out of four described the standard of service in Dublin pubs as “good”, with speed of service identified as the key characteristic of a good bar person, followed by the ability to multi task and having a sense of humour.
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According to the survey, overall pub visits are set to rise by 4% in the second half of 2014 with women and those under 55 seeing the biggest increases.
For most Dubliners the main reason for visiting pubs is to meet their friends and 79% describe going for a drink with their pals as important to them.
Overall, summer was viewed as the favourite season for going to the pub. Winter also fared well, especially amongst women and older people.
Small traditional pubs are favoured by the majority and especially those over 55, but young men tend to prefer city centre bars while women have a preference for bars with a beer garden.
Although people generally go to the pub with their friends, partner or work colleagues, young middle class men are the most likely to go to the pub by themselves. For women the pub is nearly always a collective experience.
The CEO of the LVA, Donall O’Keefe said the findings underlined the importance of Dublin pubs to the social life of the city and it was important to assess their role from time to time.
“We are seeing some positive signs in the pub trade right now and the findings of this survey show we can look to the future with renewed confidence. People go to pubs to catch up with their friends, to relax, to have a few drinks, meet new people and perhaps to talk about things they might not ordinarily discuss.
“For example over half of men believe pubs provide them with an opportunity to talk about sensitive issues. Clearly people are very comfortable doing all these things in a pub and this is reflected in the survey with 71% saying they feel at home in a Dublin pub and over 60% describing Dublin pubs as the best in the world” Mr O’Keefe said.
