The Welcome Inn

Hey folks,
I am posting tonight to let you all know what is happening with the Welcome Inn. I know that there has been lots of speculation!

I will not be reopening the Welcome as a bar again.

If I could have foreseen on March 15th 2020 how much Covid would have changed my life I don’t think I would have believed it.

I am not walking away from being a publican lightly…..it’s what I have known how to do all my life. The decision has been months in the making.

There are 50 years of thank you’s to send out tonight, and I wouldn’t know where to begin. Whether you laughed, cried, commiserated, celebrated, or just sat back and enjoyed the company and atmosphere everyday or an odd day, then thank you.

My dad was an amazing barman, who learnt his trade in New York in the 1950’s and then gave my mam a mighty training and she was some woman to take that bull by the horns. For a woman who hated it initially it gave her so much joy after.

They ran it together for 19 years, mam did it on her own then for 16 years until I moved home in 2005. I never thought then that I’d still be there now! But 16 years have gone by fast and I’ve shared my highest highs and my lowest lows in that time. The support some of you gave me in both extremes will never be forgotten. I’m so proud of what I was able to achieve with mam and after she was gone.

My future plans for what is next for #2 west side, Main Street , will be revealed in time.

To my family and friends that have supported me as I weighed up coming to this decision I am grateful for you all.

To Belle, Brian, Calum and Seanie the staff who became family. Thank you doesn’t cover it! Can’t wait for our next adventures!

To my husband and children. Covid gifted me a life that I didn’t even know I was missing out on with ye. It has been my compass as I made this decision.

To all the other publicans, I wish you all the best of luck. The trade is completely under supported from government and it is not understood what a difficult job it is.
But the local pub is so important to every rural town.
It is where we go to celebrate and commiserate.
It is for the big nights and for some to pass the rainy days.
Your local publican offers an ear to listen and an atmosphere for us all to relax from the world.
It is so much more than where we go to have a pint.

I am so grateful for the lifetime of memories The Welcome Inn has given. And I am so excited for the next chapter. God is good🙏🏼

Tomorrow is a big day for the industry folks.
I have made the decision to postpone reopening until a later date. Under current guidelines and volume of covid cases it is not feasible or safe with a young family to reopen.

It was not a decision that was made lightly but I look forward to better days to come in The Welcome Inn.

I urge you all to get out and support all our local pubs in the coming weeks and months. Our industry is under savage pressure. And your local pub is more than a place where you have a pint.

To all the other pubs in Buttevant open and opening tomorrow I wish you luck.

Stay safe everyone, wash your hands!! And the good days will return again sooner rather than later please God.

Today we said adios amigo to our bud Deano. Named after the legendary Joe Deane. He arrived here after our dog Bozo and Mick Burke’s dog Lucky had a dalliance!
Deano was family and very much a part of The Welcome Inn. Always happy when the sun shone and it drew people out to the beer garden.
He had never had it better since the lockdown came in and was being walked more than ever and playing ball with the kids.
We know that there are plenty customers that will be just as sad to hear he is gone after a good 13 years.
He is so missed here already.x