Glackin chipping in. Fred Rea had a hand in Songs of Ireland, and not to let Anzac Day go by without a tribute from the Irish Community, he also staged an online musical tribute, with special guests Gerry Gannon, Mary Ann Gannon, Tommy O’Brien and other guests who ‘popped in’ for a cuppa tea and a song. facebook.com/irishclubofwa/
Happy feet! Finally, ending off with a dancing video we enjoyed: “Dance For Hope: Michael Flatley’s Lord of the Dance Dances WARLORDS at Home (FULL)”. Dancers isolated at home or in other real life lockdown situations, turn on the power of some flashy Irish dancing to provide a bit of light relief and enjoyment and a few hints about this Covid crazy period. The video is dedicated to all healthcare workers. Its well worth a watch, more than 400,000 others have already. https://youtu.be/Z4RoVVp8JJw
Matters of
PUB-LICinterest! BY LLOYD GORMAN
Coronavirus caused chaos and closure Pubs were amongst the first businesses in Western Australia and across the country to feel the full brunt of Coronavirus restrictions. Perth’s Irish pubs and the Irish Club in Subiaco were able to open for the Tuesday of St. Patrick’s Day, but there were a lot of jitters within the industry and amongst customers, which it is probably fair to say did have an impact on turnout on what would normally be their biggest trading day on the calendar. The mood was one of hoping for the best at a time of total uncertainty. As it happened, March 17 was sandwiched into a week of dizzying changes that tumbled every social norm and custom we know. Only the day before (Monday), the maximum number of people allowed to be in the same place was capped at 500 by the federal government. When we woke up on the Wednesday (no doubt some nursing a sore head or sick stomach from the previous days festivities), that was cut right back to a maximum of 100 people. Shortly after that crowds were to be no bigger than ten people and before long politicians and health bosses were telling us to keep to ourselves, stay at home, not to go out unless it was necessary and certainly not to go near other people, and if we had to have interaction, to practice social
distancing at all times. The world looked very different at the end of that week than it had when it started on Monday, and the changes kept coming. One city Irish pub posted a Facebook message on March 20 that it was ‘business as usual’ and it’s doors were staying open and customers were invited to join them for a meal and drink. But for the health and safety of staff and punters the premises could only hold 100 patrons at the most. But 24 hours later the same establishment updated its social media site to say that due to the impact of COVID-19 the owners and management felt there was “no the reasonable choice for us other than to close our business immediately”. The closure was temporary and dependent on the advice from the relevant authorities they hoped to reopen when possible. It was the first venue to close its doors and soon the rest followed on March 23. Reopening their doors will be more of a marathon than a sprint that could take weeks or possibly months if indications from the federal and state governments are anything to go by. Unfortunately, pubs back in Ireland may face an even longer wait.
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