Cheers! NI pubs celebrate drinking law change for Easter weekend

Pubs and clubs across Northern Ireland were today (Friday) expecting trade to be busier than usual this Easter.

That is because new licensing laws mean they can now extend their drink-up hours for the first time during this period.

Previously, bar owners faced opening hour restrictions throughout the Easter period but the new legislation means they can operate like any other normal weekend.

The change is the biggest in licensing laws in Northern Ireland in half a century.

Manager of Rosie Joe's bar in Derry-Londonderry, Decky Jordan - says it's something the hospitality industry's been calling for for a long time.

"I do believe that behind the scenes - I think this may have taken nine or 10 years to actually come into effect,

"I think it was very much embarrassing on our behalf that anybody that was coming - tourists for example - were left bewildered as to why they could not enter premises that served alcohol on Easter weekend due to these outdated laws."

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• easter licensing laws
• Pubs