Mayo-born publican launches app letting Irish abroad buy a round in the local back home

Gr8NiteOut arrives in Ireland as the Government sets aside €15m. to keep rural pubs open

A Belmullet-born publican has brought Gr8NiteOut to Ireland.

It's a free app that lets Irish people anywhere in the world buy friends and family a drink in their local pub at home.

Sheila Gaughan left Mayo for London and has run her own pub there for 25 years.

She built Gr8NiteOut so that a birthday, GAA win or any reason at all can be marked with a round in the local, even when the person paying is in Sydney, Boston or London.

The sender picks the pub, adds a personal message, photo or video, and pays by card.

The money goes straight to the pub's own Stripe account before anything is served.

The person at home walks in, and staff enter the cost of the round and the pub's four-digit code. The credit can be spent on anything the pub sells, from a pint to tea and sandwiches.

"When I left Belmullet, the thing I missed most was the local, the place where everyone knew you," said Sheila Gaughan.

"Every Irish family has someone abroad who'd love to stand a round at home and can't. Now they can. Wherever you are in the world, tonight, you're home."

The launch comes days after Budget 2027 committed €15 million to help keep rural pubs open, with the Department of Enterprise developing the scheme alongside the Department of Finance.

More than 2,000 Irish pubs have closed since 2005.

"The government's support is welcome, but rural pubs also need customers through the door," said Sheila.

"There are millions of Irish people abroad who still call their local pub home. Gr8NiteOut gives them a way to spend money there."

Pubs join Gr8NiteOut on a subscription of £10 a month or £99.99 a year, charged in sterling.

This lets them receive credits and gives them their own page showing photos and events. Gr8NiteOut takes nothing from the credit itself; the only deduction is the standard card processing fee. Credits bought for Irish pubs are valid for five years.

The first Irish pubs will join Gr8NiteOut in Dungarvan, Co. Waterford, over the coming weeks.

The app is free on the App Store and Google Play for adults aged 18 and over.