When the history of the Covid-19 pandemic is written, Kildare will have the unenviable claim of being the county that was locked down for longer than anywhere else in Ireland.
In August 2020, Kildare, Laois and Offaly were locked down. When Laois and Offaly reopened the following month, case numbers in Kildare were so high that localised restrictions remained for a few weeks longer than its two neighbours.
For Barry Flanagan, the owner of Lock 13, a gastro pub on the banks of the Grand Canal in Sallins, this has meant that the doors of his business have been open for just 8 of the last 22 months.
On Thursday, ahead of tomorrow's expected update on the lifting of restrictions, there was a trickle of customers sitting in an area that takes up just a fifth of the pub’s floor space. "Before Covid times, this place would be buzzing.