Watch: More than a pint: The fight to save Roscommon’s pubs
Padraig Mulligan, owner of Mulligan’s pub and hardware shop in Ballaghaderreen.
“A problem shared is a problem halved.” For generations, that old saying came to life in the rural Irish pub — a place as much about companionship and conversation as it was about drink.
Now, however, that tradition is under growing pressure, particularly in counties like Roscommon, where closures and rising costs are reshaping the fabric of rural life.
A 2025 report from the Drinks Industry Group of Ireland outlined the scale of the challenge: Roscommon has the fourth-highest rate of pub closures nationwide.
Since 2005, 82 pubs have shut their doors — a sharp decline in a county already facing depopulation and a limited range of local amenities.
We got the views of two local publicans about the challenges.
