Last Sunday, I arranged to meet a group of friends for an early afternoon bite, and maybe a quick drink, in Dún Laoghaire, south Dublin. Some of the group had come straight from the airport and were carrying awkward-sized luggage. Others, me included, had young children in tow. We needed somewhere spacious and also welcoming for families. Someone suggested the Forty Foot pub.

Only as we were walking up the steps did I remember it is a JD Wetherspoon outlet. When the British pub group announced plans to open up to 30 outlets in Ireland, there was almost a revolution among some of the drinking public who bleated that it would destroy the quaint Irish pub industry.

Damn, I thought, this place is going be a Blighty nightmare. Not so.

The range of drinks on offer was undeniably British in influence – Dún Laoghaire is Kingstown, after all – but they were incredibly keenly priced. It was less than €3 for all draught or bottled beers. The food was average, but, once again, extremely good value and cheerfully served.

The place was teeming with relaxed punters, but the toilets, unlike your average Dublin hostelry, were spotless. There are no seats at the enormous counter, so you didn’t have to haul your drinks over the shoulder of some sozzled barfly.

All in all, it was rather pleasant. If this is the enemy of the staid, rip-off riddled Irish pub industry, then bring on the war.