With pubs, hotel bars and nightclubs closed until at least 31 August, where does that leave rural pubs, in particular, most of which have been shut for nearly five months now?
Pat Gilmore owns Martin's Bar na d'Taoisigh in the rural Galway town of Ballygar. It has been in the family since the 1830s - and is also the oldest public house in the locality.
Pat has been running the pub together with his wife and children since 1986. Covid restrictions led to the pub closing in March, but back then Pat did not think it would be long before he was back behind the counter. "At first it was a little bit of a holiday," he said, adding he thought he would be back open by the first week in June.