The ban's first night: Bar staff and smokers seemed happy enough with the new reality, writes Conor Lally out and about in Dublin
Fortune smiled on smokers in Dublin last night delivering dry and mild weather conditions, ideal for some al-fresco puffing.
Publicans were keeping a closer eye than usual on the night's takings, no doubt anxious to see if the smoking ban will bring with it the lean times predicted in recent months.
Mr Paul Bodie was coming to terms with the workplace ban as he enjoyed a cigarette outside the Auld Dubliner in Temple Bar. He and his friend, Mr Keith McDonald, were enjoying their first pints since the ban's introduction.
"I think it's having an impact because four of our friends are in the pub now having a drink and a chat and we're outside having a smoke, so in that sense it breaks up the social scene a little bit. Maybe it will be positive in the long term. I'm going to try and give them up, starting tomorrow," he said.
Mr McDonald was less anxious to change his ways. "At the end of the day there should be designated areas in a pub where you can have a cigarette. They shouldn't have just forced the ban on people, we should have been allowed to vote on it."
Inside, the busy pub manager Mr Francis Younge had no problems to report. "We haven't had one incident so far. People seem to be going outside. But it's going to be hard to enforce it all the time. If people are trying to sneak a smoke in a snug or in the toilets, what are we supposed to do, we can't be everywhere at once."
Mr Younge said business was as strong as any Monday night. "We find April can be a slow period so it might be a while before we can say for sure how the ban is going to hit us."
In Kehoe's on South Anne Street, manager Mr Vivian Walsh said the feedback from customers all day had been positive. "Even the smokers think it's a good thing. From my own point of view I'd certainly feel the effects of working in a smoky atmosphere, particularly after a few days in a row, so it's great to have clean air," he said.
"It was always very smoky in here, people on the street would open the door, take a look in and not come in because it was too smoky.
" I think we'll get all that traffic now. Apart from having to explain the ban to tourists, I don't think it's going to cause any problems."