In a BBC article today, read here, the number of pubs in the Irish countryside are falling in numbers and along with that, the world famous Irish pub culture is fading.

trademark Irish venue, the country pub – renowned as a place to chat, have a pint, hear some music and soak up the atmosphere – is facing challenging times
..
the new rule (smoking ban, drink-driving bans, no public transport), they say, has meant fewer people going to the pub in remote areas, especially during the week.

Last week, the govt. suggested on starting a new bus service “boozer bus” to carry people from countryside to city, bringing people to city for drinking.

I am not sure about this one, but a friend of mine last week told me that, to open a pub/bar in Dublin, they need to close one somewhere else, which means countryside. So they close a bar/pub in countryside and open a new one in Dublin. May be someone else can throw more light on this.