In Ireland, the first alcohol-free pub opens in the beer kingdom

A non-alcoholic pub in Ireland… unthinkable ? Yet this is the challenge that the Virgin Mary has taken up, with the hope of accompanying a cultural change in this country, one of the world’s largest alcohol consumers.

Ireland’s first ever non-alcoholic pub, the Virgin Mary opened in early May and quickly made a name for itself in Dublin, a notable performance in a city where traditional pubs and beer rule the nightlife.

A sign of a change in morals in Ireland ?

« Alcohol consumption is rooted in Irish society, » says Vaughan Yates, 51, co-founder of the Virgin Mary. « But the Irish are very progressive, open-minded people, » he says.

And « there is a real cultural change in the world with regard to alcohol, » says Mr. Yates, convinced that his pub is at the « forefront » of transformation.