‘It takes a village' – Group of locals pool savings together to save town pub from closure
The 26-person group, including 25 men and one woman, purchased Kilteely's only watering hole, Aherns pub in Co Limerick, after it went on the market for €300,000.
The sale had threatened to quench the communities thirst for craic, however after pooling their pennies together, the devoted pub-goers saved their beloved boozer — proving that friendship, froth, and a dash of community spirit are the perfect cocktail.
The group renamed the premises, The Street Bar, and extended an invitation to the White House for President Donald Trump to come and visit and drink his first pint of non-alcoholic 'Kilteely cream'.
One of the pub's local investors, landscape gardener, Noel O'Dea said: 'They say it takes a village to raise a child, but I tell you, it also takes a village to save its pub.'
Not one of the 26 investors has pub trade experience, but they refused to drown their sorrows over the impending pub closure.
Mr O'Dea said: 'The pub is the heart of any community, and because all the shops and pubs here were gone, this was our last meeting place.'
'We just couldn't see the people in the village having no place to go to, because otherwise it is just a group of houses,' he said.
Lamenting the loss of two pubs, two shops, two post offices, and a creamery locally, O'Dea said the only other business in the Limerick village, a recycling venture, KDI (Kilteely Dromkeen Innovation), employs seven people, which was also set up by locals, 'after the last recession hit and because employment was hard to get'.
In what must be the most expensive 'round' ever, the local pub group invested up to €15,000 each to keep the drinks pouring and the craic flowing.
The eclectic group, which includes a clinical psychologist, barrister, solicitor, pharmacist, carpenter, accountant, farmers, a teacher, sign-maker, builders, electricians, is also considering how best to use a shop premises included in the pub sale.
'There were a few suggestions but I don't think we would get away with some of them,' O'Dea joked.
One of the group said they should invite the media loving US President Donald Trump, who does not drink alcohol, to their pub to sample his first pint of non-alcoholic 'Kilteely cream' or his favourite tipple Diet Coke.
O'Dea laughed: 'Yeah, we could, sure listen, why not, send out the invitation.'
Extending the invite to presidents, prince/princesses and paupers, O'Dea added: 'We have a festival every year and it's on in two-weeks time, and this year we are going to have Ireland's first-ever Black Pudding Festival, so everyone is welcome.'
'We are starting that off this year, we're asking butchers and anyone who is good at making food at home, because the art of making pudding is dying out and we are just trying to revive it —during the festival we'll serve you the perfect pint and pudding.'
Embracing the venture, another member of the group, barrister Liam Carroll, said: 'Rural pubs are dying out all over the country, so we decided to come together to save ours, and hopefully we can keep it going, employ a few people and harness the community spirit that we have 'on tap' here.'
Mr Carroll also encouraged other communities to group together to keep their dying pubs alive: 'I would encourage others to do the same thing, there is little or no profits in this type of venture, but it is vital to keep local communities from dying out.'
The rebranded Street Bar, Kilteely, Co Limerick, opened its doors last Saturday.
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