Pubs and licensed premises where permitted to open on Good Friday for the first time since 1927 last week and while some establishments in Co. Roscommon opted to remain closed, a number of Roscommon town businesses opened their doors.
JJ Harlow’s in The Square was one such pub and Brian Mugan, who owns the bar alongside his business partner Cáitlin McConn, said it proved to be a wise decision.
“Business was good. The trade during the day was quite similar but the evening time was busier than usual. We put a band on to mark the day and this went down well,” he said.
With business recently disrupted due to harsh winter weather, many establishments viewed Good Friday as a day back in terms of takings.
Brian believes this was certainly the case for JJ’s: “We were down a day because of the recent snow so we are almost back to normal now”.
As for the lifting of the Good Friday ban on alcohol sales, Brian said the decision was overdue. “It was an old law and it didn’t really make much sense anymore,” he concluded.
