Beer and loathing: Irish mourn another St Patrick's Day lockdown

Tom Cleary, owner of the Temple Bar at his pub in the Temple Bar area of Dublin City centre on March 15,2021, as St Patrick's Day celebrations have been cancelled for the second year, due to the coronavirus pandemic lockdown. Photo: AFP

The cellar of The Temple Bar in central Dublin would normally be stacked head-high with enough kegs of Guinness to serve thousands of pints to revellers toasting Ireland's patron saint.

But this St Patrick's Day on Wednesday, only a smattering of empty caskets line the chilled basement of the crimson-coloured pub, the cornerstone of the capital's drinking district.