Last orders have been staved off in a Co Waterford village after locals came together to buy their local pub.
A 19-strong group from Rathgormack, near Carrick-on-Suir, have bought the establishment formerly known as Maudie's and are opening it at the end of the month as part-pub, part-coffee shop.
They decided to join each other after the pub went up for sale as its closure would have left the village, located right at the foot of the Comeraghs, without a watering hole.
A flurry of phone conversations and snatched words in the village last September led to a meeting between the interested locals with many of the group deciding to proceed with a bid, with a simple motto of 'saving the pub'.
"Without this pub here you can take Rathgormack off the map," says Jim Harrison. "It has to be kept. There's nobody in this for the money, it's for the sake of the village and that's the short and sweet of it. We had a common goal and we've gelled pretty well because of that I think."
There was a long wait for the final papers to be approved, according to Gerard Kirwan, a local welder, who will be one of the three directors of the company set up to manage the business, which will be known as 'The Village'.
"Thank God we got it over the line two weeks ago and got the keys then. We're all from the parish so all understand that if the pub was gone, it would be the end. There wouldn't be a pub here anymore so they all stuck together."
Each man has paid roughly €12,000 for their share, with Kirwan joined by Harrison and a local physio, Stephen Flynn as directors.
There's a variety of backgrounds among the shareholders. Harrison has a kitchen fitting business in Carrick while there's also an electrician, farmers and a county councillor.
Regarding the latter, how did he get involved? “Anything for votes,” laughs Seanie Power. “Look, there’s great comeradery around here and it would be awful to see the pub go, and I think a lot of lads would hate to be here ten years from now not having gotten involved to save Maudie's."
Maudie Kennedy who ran the pub in Rathgormac for over 50 years
While many wanted to save the pub to maintain the village's social outlet, it was a football county final victory that inspired some of the new co-owners.
Shane Gough says it was "unbelievable" seeing Maudies become the focal point when Rathgormack brought home silverware in 2019, as untold numbers gathered around to celebrate.
"That's honestly the responsibility we've taken on here now so that people have somewhere to come for celebrations and more. And hopefully we'll be here for a long time to come."
It’s taken 19 men to replace the woman running it. Maudie Kennedy, who ran the pub for over 50 years, is happy to see it remain open after deciding to retire last year as she reached her 70s.
The family involvement will continue in the trade through her nephew Ryan Roche.
The former owner looks forward to being able to take a seat at the pub as a patron when it relaunches on Friday 30 July and enjoy a tonic water among her old customers.
"There's a lot of lovely memories here and you'd be very proud to see what they've managed to keep it going," Maudie says.
