#LoveYourLocal

Let’s face it we’ve all passed the point of making do. The beers we pour at home are flat, the whiskey pales, the ice sticks, the glasses are always the wrong size, we can’t tell our Angostura from our elbows and the surger we thought would fix everything is gathering dust in the cupboard. We are sick of making do, we miss the local. Everything about it; from the local that’s never too clean or too tidy, the local that’s part sitting room during the day and adult creche at night, that booth in the back that lets you eyeball every person that comes through the door, the aul lad that single-handedly props up the bar on his own, the tense walk from the counter to the table with the round, the smiles when you hand them around, you miss the quiet one, the cheeky one, the “ah gowan” one, the last one, the one for the road, yes you miss the local.

The local is more than just a pourer of alcohol, it’s a place for gathering, for planning, for celebrating and for commiserating, it’s part of the very fibre of Irish society. Recognising this, Jameson Irish Whiskey and Irish Distillers have launched the Love Your Local campaign. The campaign is a “supportive move” from organisers “to reassure publicans, bar owners, bar staff and all involved in the hospitality industry that when it’s time to reopen, there will be a loyal army of customers ready to support their local,” the team at Jameson told us.

Highly visible and interactive, the campaign challenges social media users to share what they miss most about their local bars. Asking them to tag their locals on social media and describe the happy memories and the silly things they miss about those hallowed walls that hold so much.

“The campaign looks to lead a bastion of support from the public, giving them a platform to share their favourite stories and memories of their local. #LoveYourLocal pays tribute to the characters, the charm and most importantly the role of the local in their community”

It’s easy to get involved and participate in the Love Your Local campaign, just head over to your preferred social media platform, be it Twitter, Instagram or Facebook, and leave a comment tagging your local and telling us what you miss most about it. As well as a warm fuzzy feeling, you will also be in with a chance to win a €200 Bodytonic voucher.