Introduction to 'Historic Pubs of Belfast continued

As the 19th century drew to a close, the extent of public drunkenness began to be a distinct cause for concern for the authorities. There was even a bill laid before Parliament entitled the Drunkards’ (Ireland) Bill, though its draconian proposals failed to gain significant support. In 1902, the New Licences (Ireland) Act severely curtailed the number of new drinks licences issued – a move which was welcomed by most publicans, since they feared over-saturation of the market and the increase in irresponsible licensees providing ammunition for the growing temperance movement. From 1893 to 1901, there had been 1,703 new licences approved in Ireland; in 1902 not a single one was granted. Another change came with the Sale to Children Act, which led to the Licensed Grocers and Vintners Association issuing the following notice for members to display on their premises:

SALE TO CHILDREN ACT: WARNING TO ASSISTANTS It is contrary to the wishes of the Proprietor of this Establishment that any Assistant should sell drink to any child under 14 years of age, except in corked and sealed vessels, and then only in a quantity of not less than a reputed pint.

In the late Victorian period, temperance campaigns had been gradually gaining support as drink proved the ruin of many a household. In 1901 the Catholic Church established the Pioneer Total Abstinence Association, while the Catch-My-Pal movement was founded by a Presbyterian minister in 1910. Four years earlier, Belfast Corporation had issued official posters endorsing temperance, much to the dismay of the city’s publicans.

The First World War made the lives of the city’s bar owners even more difficult. Distilling was halted altogether and beer brewing was curtailed by two thirds. At the same time, the duty on both was increased to pay for the war effort and the hours of trading were reduced from 16 per day to nine. A scarcity of coal also meant that some pubs closed in the afternoon to conserve fuel stocks.

When the war ended, the temperance question reared its head once again. In the 1920s, the government of the newly created Northern Ireland state came under intense pressure from such groups as the Temperance Council and the Ulster Women’s Temperance Association to completely ban the sale of alcohol. The licensed trade was deeply concerned that even if full prohibition was not implemented, some fairly swingeing restrictions might be imposed. At a meeting in a hall in Arthur Street on 9 October 1922, the Belfast and North of Ireland Distillers and Wholesale Wine and Spirit Merchants Association passed a resolution ‘protesting emphatically against the offer of the Prime Minister of Northern Ireland to initiate, without public inquiry of any kind, legislation directed against the licensed trade based on the advice of the teetotal party’. The Ulster Vintners Association accused the Prime Minister of a ‘breach of faith’ and that same month the Ulster Anti-Prohibition Council was set up. The threat of prohibition faded, however, as the lessons of its imposition in the United States became apparent, and ironically the consumption of drink fell sharply during the inter-war years without any significant official interference.

However, that did not stop the anti-drink lobby doing whatever it could to reduce the popularity of Belfast’s pubs. In 1936 the tactics of the temperance crusaders prompted the Belfast and Ulster Licensed Vintners Association to make an official complaint to the Royal Ulster Constabulary over ‘so-called religious gatherings’ outside bars on the Crumlin Road and York Street every Saturday night. ‘The noise and din created when they commence to sing and preach is terrific,’ said the exasperated society. ‘Meetings are invariably held at a corner where there is a public house. The members concerned do not mind a meeting being held there at intervals, but do object to one every Saturday night.’

With the coming of the Second World War, the city’s bar owners had more than the occasional religious meeting to occupy their minds. Pubs were issued with strict air raid instructions – if a warning was sounded and the alert continued after 10 pm closing time, the owner of a pub was not compelled to turn his customers out into the street ‘but he must obey the licensing laws in every other respect and see that no alcoholic liquor is sold’. Few publicans thought that they would ever have much need to worry about air raids, but then came the Blitz of 4 May 1941, and many historic pubs in the heart of old Belfast were wiped out by the torrent of high explosives that rained down on the city. Bars in High Street, Skipper Street and Church Lane were particularly hard hit by the onslaught, and although some were later rebuilt, others never reopened. Probably the most notable pub casualty of the German bombing was the once-famed Peggy Barclay’s Tavern in Sugar House Entry.

The Introduction to Historic Pubs of Belfast continues here.

Also from Appletree: Irish Pub Songs.