One of the best-known pubs in the country, Johnnie Fox's, has already had "a few cancellations" linked to coronavirus. Sinead Keane, business development manager at the Co Dublin pub, on Wednesday acknowledged concerns linked to the virus, saying cancellations had included one from an overseas group which had booked for a September date. She said the pub has a very strong domestic base.

New accounts for Johnnie Fox’s show the business had a bumper year last year, with pretax profits almost doubling to €396,588. Accumulated profits at the company, operated by the McMahon family, at the end of last March totalled €641,295. The company’s cash pile increased seven-fold from €76,900 to €534,737, while the value of the company’s property, plant and equipment climbed from €2.77 million to €2.891 million.

Last year’s profit figure takes account of the 2018 Beast from the East storm not re-occurring.