O'Donoghue's pub: Last night in O'Donoghue's Pub on Dublin's Merrion Row a sense of impending doom, not to mention thick clouds of cigarette smoke, lay heavy in the air. As of midnight last night scenes like these have been consigned to the history books.
Unlike other Irish smokers, Ms Carmel Boyle will not be affected by the ban on smoking in pubs and other workplaces. Originally from Tipperary, she has lived in Birmingham since 1962. However, she fears that if the new smoking laws here prove successful it will only be a matter of time before the UK follows the Irish example.
"I've been smoking since I was about eight when I used to nick my mother's cigarettes," laughed the 57-year-old. "I'm glad (the ban) is something I don't have to think about for the moment. It will have an impact on the whole pub social scene. People who like a smoke love having one when they drink, so it is going to be difficult. But I don't think the Government should have just introduced it, they should have had a referendum."
Ms Patricia Doyle, from Birmingham, said the ban was likely to cause unrest in the early days. "I think there'll be more than a few fights. I can't understand why they don't just have a smoking room in a pub and let people get on with it. When you take a job in a pub you have to accept that having customers smoking is part of the job."
Mr Ciaran Kennedy, from Walkinstown, Dublin, said he "won't be bothered" by the ban, despite being a smoker himself.
"It will be a good opportunity to give them up, or even give up the drink. Most people are non-smokers so I think the majority will support the ban. It will be harder for older people who are used to going out and having a smoke and a few pints. And it will be difficult for publicans to tell their best customers they can't smoke."
Mr Kennedy has just returned from living in Australia after 15 years. "You can't smoke at the bar over there, you have to stand at least one metre back. But it's a bit ridiculous because the staff are still getting the second-hand smoke. The Irish system is probably better in that sense."
Mr John Crosbie, from Galway, believes enforcing the ban in nightclubs will prove most difficult.
"It's getting to the stage where it's like a police state and I don't like it. The bottom line is you shouldn't be able to tell people what they can and can't do. I smoke myself but to be honest I haven't given the ban much thought because I can't believe it's actually happening, it's like being hit over the head."
Mr Pádraig Conlon, from Glentees, Donegal, said many rural pubs would be more inclined to have lock-ins after hours during which they would allow people to smoke on the premises. "The first people who tried to ban smoking were the Nazis. It's at the stage now where you'll be able to smoke in Irish pubs all over the world except Ireland. It's crazy."
