Clancy’s Bar: 150 years at the heart of rural Roscommon

Family-run Knockvicar pub celebrates 150 years in business while facing the mounting and consistent challenges confronting Ireland’s rural on-trade

For 150 years, Clancy’s Bar in Knockvicar has been much more than a place to have a drink. Situated between Ardcarne and Keadue, close to the Leitrim border and just 12 minutes from Carrickon- Shannon, the family-run pub has become an important social hub for the surrounding community, a role that has arguably never been more important as rural Ireland’s pub network continues to shrink.

To mark the remarkable milestone, owners Ann McGonigle and her son Michael McGonigle recently presented kitbags and tops to the St Michael’s GAA Club adult teams, reinforcing a relationship that is mutually beneficial to both pub and community.

A family business  

Clancy’s has been in the McGonigle family for 150 years, although Michael’s parents, Ann and the late Michael Snr, bought the pub and land from Michael’s grandmother approximately 35 years ago. Michael Snr, who had worked as a Garda, passed away in 2022 following a long period of ill health. His death was followed shortly afterwards by a stroke suffered by Ann, leaving Michael to step in and run the pub full-time for four months while taking unpaid leave from his day job. “It was the worst 18 months of my   life,” he says.   However, the experience also gave him a different perspective on the business.

“When I was there full-time it gaveme a really different view of it and I  really loved it.”  But while Michael has a clear  affection for the pub and enormous pride in what his mother has achieved, taking over the business is not a straightforward decision.

“The question to ask is, is it really  sustainable for me to go back there  full-time and maybe rear a family from  it? And to be brutally honest with you,  it really doesn’t look like it.”

That is the dilemma facing many  family-run pubs across rural Ireland: there may be a strong community,  a loyal customer base and a deep  emotional attachment to the business,  but the economics of running it are  increasingly difficult.

‘No one is making a good  living out of it’ 

Michael works full-time in the  agricultural sector, covering a  huge territory from his base in  Tuam. His working week involves travelling hundreds of kilometres a day and dealing with more than 200 customers across Leinster and beyond.

His mother, meanwhile, works full time  in Clancy’s, supported by four  part-time employees and an extended  family network that continues to  contribute whenever required.  His brothers and sister all play their  part despite living elsewhere.  “No one is making a good living  out of it,” Michael says. “They are  doing it because it’s a family business, and that’s what it relies on.”

The pub was finally paid off in  2016, having been supported over the  years by his father’s Garda salary and  pension.  “So it’s been hard going for a long  time,” says Michael.  Yet there is no shortage of pride in  what has been built.  “I’m incredibly proud of what my  mother has built. My granny had  done a lot of work to the place and  my mother has further modernised it, making it a great place to walk into  and drive it on again.”  The question is whether there is  a viable market in which to drive it  forward.  “That’s the biggest fear.” says  Michael.

The changing rural pub landscape 

The challenge is particularly acute in  rural areas where there is no passing  trade to fall back on.  Before Covid, there were five pubs  in the parish. Today, there are two.  Clancy’s relies heavily on its local  community, with the pub hosting  cards every Tuesday night, an Irish club on Thursdays, a monthly book club and various GAA events and fundraisers.

Four times a year, Ann also  organises a coffee morning for  the hospice, raising approximately  €4,000 annually.  “We’re really relying on the local community and we’d be lost without  them,” Michael says.

The pub has a bar with 12 stools,  high tables, a lounge area, smoking  area and beer garden. It is particularly  busy around GAA matches, with  customers coming in after games or  to watch televised sporting events.  The pub does not subscribe to  Sky Sports, however, with Michael  saying the cost simply does not make  commercial sense for a business of its  size.

There have also been discussions  about introducing food, but the  investment required has so far ruled  it out.  “We thought about doing food a  few times but the investment into a  full kitchen and hiring chefs, extra staff and all the regulations around it and you have to have a grá for food and we didn’t really have that.”

Rising costs and squeezed  margins 

Like many publicans, Michael points to the rising cost base as one of the  biggest threats to the viability of the  business.  Electricity costs approximately €900 a month, while oil, turf and  timber add further significant expense.

Rates run into thousands of euro.  “We don’t do food, so that recent  VAT reduction didn’t apply to us,” he  says.  He is particularly critical of the cost  burden faced by rural businesses.  “We are out in the countryside so  we have no streetlights or footpaths.  A pub in a town actually pays less  rates than us and they get streetlights, footpaths, parking, sewerage. They get their windows cleaned and all that kind of stuff done through their rates and their tax.  “We have to pay for our own  sewerage system. We’ve no  streetlights.”

Supplier price increases are another  pressure. Clancy’s currently charges €5.80  for a pint of Guinness, with lager at  €6. Michael says absorbing some supplier increases has been necessary  because passing every increase  directly on to customers risks pushing  them away.

“Trying to tell the customers that  the price has gone up overnight is very tough because people are so  conscious of price.”  The pub’s customer base reflects that pressure.

During the week,  many of its regulars are aged 55 and  over, with a significant proportion  on pensions. Younger customers  tend to visit around matches and events, while people of Michael’s  generation are often saving for homes  and are increasingly careful about  discretionary spending. “We’re relying on people’s  disposable income and they don’t  have much of it because even the  price of shopping has gone up so  much.”

A serious pint of Guinness 

Despite the challenges, there are  things about running Clancy’s that  Michael remains fiercely proud of –  chief among them the pub’s Guinness.  “Our Guinness is renowned. You’d  have to travel a long way to find a  better pint and I don’t mind saying  that. I cannot find as good a pint of  Guinness as you get at home.”

The secret, he believes, is simple: cleanliness and consistency.  His mother cleans the beer lines  herself every Thursday, while the  brewery service teams also carry out  their scheduled maintenance.  “It’s all about hygiene,” says  Michael.  That attention to detail extends  throughout the pub, including the  toilets and wider premises.  The pub is also considering  sustainability improvements and  has looked at installing solar panels,  although Michael says the return on  investment currently does not stack  up. A sustainability grant is being  explored, while the pub continues to  operate with traditional under-counter  coolers rather than a dedicated cold  room.

Looking to the future 

Despite the uncertainty, Michael can  see opportunities for Clancy’s if the  economics can be made to work.  A major wedding venue, Kilronan  Castle, is located nearby, although  the pub currently gets relatively little  business from it.  Michael believes an  improved beer garden and smoking  area could create an opportunity to  target wedding parties, particularly  second-day celebrations.

“We’ve gotten a few parties in the  last few months from Boyle or Carrick-on -Shannon where they don’t want  to have them in the town. If we could cater for that, you’d have to go all out with advertising and marketing to push that.”  That, however, would require  further investment and potentially  another full-time employee.

There is also the potential to capitalise on the vibrant visitor  economy in nearby Carrick-on-  Shannon, which has become a major  destination for hen and stag parties.  But once again, the decision comes  down to whether the numbers work.  “It would be great to have a partner  who would work in the business with  me,” Michael says.

More than a pub 

Perhaps the most revealing part of  Michael’s story is how he describes the  role of Clancy’s in the community.  For him, the pub is not simply a  licensed premises. It is somewhere  people come to meet, talk and,  sometimes, simply be around other  people.  “You are a counselling service  as well,” he says. “You can see that  people have a load on them. You know  the person so well that you can say,  ‘Are you alright?’”

Customers do not necessarily have to drink.  “We have people who come in and drink one Diet Coke or a pint of blackcurrant and we don’t mind  because people need a place to go.”  That social function, Michael  argues, is increasingly overlooked.  “Pubs are demonised. We all know  people who drink too much, but if  you think people drink too much in a  pub, you should see how many bottles  are going into the bottle bank every day showing how much people are  drinking at home now.”

For Clancy’s, the 150-year milestone  is therefore both a celebration and a moment of reflection.  Three pubs in the wider area did  not reopen following Covid, while others have changed direction and become restaurants. The  traditional rural pub model is  under pressure from rising costs,  changing demographics, reduced  disposable income and an increasingly  challenging regulatory environment.  Yet Clancy’s continues to open its  doors.

Michael’s mother is waiting to see whether he will eventually take over  the reins. He wants her to be able to  enjoy her retirement, but knows that  stepping into the family business is a decision that cannot be made purely on sentiment. For now, the future remains  uncertain.

“The future is scary enough  as you don’t know what way things will go,” says Michael.

But after 150 years, Clancy’s Bar  remains firmly embedded in the fabric  of Knockvicar – a place where a good  pint is taken seriously, where GAA  and community life intersect, and  where the pub continues to perform a  role that goes far beyond the sale of  drinks.

“We definitely feel forgotten about  from the government,” Michael says.  “All we get is soundbites.”

For Clancy’s, however, the more  immediate task is ensuring that there  is a viable business there for the next  generation to inherit.