<p>Irish pubs unlock their doors and begin pouring pints on Monday, ending a 15-week dry spell forced by the nation's coronavirus lockdown.</p>.<p>Pubs serving food as well as restaurants and hotels are permitted to open as the republic enters the penultimate stage of its plan to lift stay-at-home restrictions.</p>.<p>All domestic travel restrictions were also lifted, as churches, hairdressers, cinemas and museums opened and mass gatherings of 50 indoors or 200 outdoors were permitted.</p>.<p>But anyone hoping to experience a heaving Irish pub will be disappointed.</p>.<p>Social distancing measures mean drinkers will have to stay seated, with a maximum stay of 105 minutes.</p>.<p>Ireland's 7,000 pubs shut their doors on the eve of St Patrick's Day, which is traditionally marked by street parades and carousing, two weeks before lockdown on March 28.</p>.<p>Anticipation for reopening is high.</p>.<p>"There is a pent-up public demand to return to the pub, mixed with some natural anxiety," said Padraig Cribben, of the Vintners' Federation of Ireland.</p>.<p>Pub industry organisations estimate some 2,000 of their members will open on Monday, while the rest await the final stage of the nation's scheme to reopen on July 20.</p>.<p>Ireland has seen 1,735 deaths in the coronavirus outbreak, according to health department figures on Sunday.</p>.<p>Since peaking at 77 in a day in mid-April, the daily toll has dwindled to single digits in June, prompting the government to quicken its initial "roadmap" to reopen the nation.</p>.<p>The original five-phase plan was reduced to four phases, with shop and pub openings brought forward. Nearly all restrictions are now due to lift in July rather than August.</p>.<p>But chief medical officer Tony Holohan warned Saturday that a growing number of new infections are in the under-35 age bracket.</p>.<p>"This is now a real concern and a worrying trend at a time when many people are reconnecting with friends and loved ones and may be gathering in larger groups," he said.</p>.<p>"COVID-19 is an infection that affects all ages and it is incumbent on all of us to take our individual responsibility seriously."</p>
<p>Irish pubs unlock their doors and begin pouring pints on Monday, ending a 15-week dry spell forced by the nation's coronavirus lockdown.</p>.<p>Pubs serving food as well as restaurants and hotels are permitted to open as the republic enters the penultimate stage of its plan to lift stay-at-home restrictions.</p>.<p>All domestic travel restrictions were also lifted, as churches, hairdressers, cinemas and museums opened and mass gatherings of 50 indoors or 200 outdoors were permitted.</p>.<p>But anyone hoping to experience a heaving Irish pub will be disappointed.</p>.<p>Social distancing measures mean drinkers will have to stay seated, with a maximum stay of 105 minutes.</p>.<p>Ireland's 7,000 pubs shut their doors on the eve of St Patrick's Day, which is traditionally marked by street parades and carousing, two weeks before lockdown on March 28.</p>.<p>Anticipation for reopening is high.</p>.<p>"There is a pent-up public demand to return to the pub, mixed with some natural anxiety," said Padraig Cribben, of the Vintners' Federation of Ireland.</p>.<p>Pub industry organisations estimate some 2,000 of their members will open on Monday, while the rest await the final stage of the nation's scheme to reopen on July 20.</p>.<p>Ireland has seen 1,735 deaths in the coronavirus outbreak, according to health department figures on Sunday.</p>.<p>Since peaking at 77 in a day in mid-April, the daily toll has dwindled to single digits in June, prompting the government to quicken its initial "roadmap" to reopen the nation.</p>.<p>The original five-phase plan was reduced to four phases, with shop and pub openings brought forward. Nearly all restrictions are now due to lift in July rather than August.</p>.<p>But chief medical officer Tony Holohan warned Saturday that a growing number of new infections are in the under-35 age bracket.</p>.<p>"This is now a real concern and a worrying trend at a time when many people are reconnecting with friends and loved ones and may be gathering in larger groups," he said.</p>.<p>"COVID-19 is an infection that affects all ages and it is incumbent on all of us to take our individual responsibility seriously."</p>