I don't recall you talking of the pubs closing...how sad! What will we tourists do for fun in Ireland if we can't crawl the pubs?
Face, I don't go much since I quit! It's something I have mentioned on my Ireland Pings a couple of times, though.
It's serious, though - even pubs in large towns are now closing down. I mean, how can community life survive when the main meeting places are gone out of business?