Patrons of a new pub and club being opened this weekend in Bundoran, Co Donegal, will be offered the cheapest drinks in Ireland, some less than half the price they are elsewhere.
All drinks will be the same price, €2.50. The pub's owner, Mr Seanie McEniff, said yesterday it was not an opening night gimmick.
"The prices will remain the same all through the year. They will only increase if the manufacturers put up their prices. There is no cover charge in either the pub or the club," Mr McEniff said.
Pints of Guinness, Smithwicks, Budweiser and several other beers will cost €2.50. Spirits, with a mixer included, will also be €2.50. It will be the same price for a glass of wine.
Mr McEniff is a member of a family steeped in the hotel and pub industry. He is a son of the Donegal Gaelic football team manager, Mr Brian McEniff, who owns the nearby Great Northern Hotel.
The premises will open on Friday evening. The pub, called Fast Eddie's, will be open all week from 7 p.m. until normal closing time. It will have a late licence - until 2.30 a.m. - from Thursdays to Sundays. It will also have live music.
The adjoining club, Pacino's, will operate on Friday and Saturday nights between 11 p.m. and 3 a.m. The two premises, which replace the old Astoria Ballroom, have a total capacity of about 1,500.
Mr McEniff said: "I have no doubt we will make a profit. The margins are rock-bottom, but we can still do it."
The smoking ban had devastated the pub business along the Border, and he reckoned the only way to combat the damage was to introduce real value for money.
"People have taken to crossing the Border for a night out now. If they don't want to travel they just stay at home," he said.
"People who want a smoke have decided they do not want to pay high prices for their drink and then have to stand outside the door to enjoy a cigarette. If they are to be attracted back to the pubs they must be given value for their money," Mr McEniff said.