“These tours are one-on-one,” said Kavanagh, who runs E-Whizz tours along Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way trail. “I couldn’t put myself and my staff at risk.”
False Alarm
The confusion around the rules frustrate many. Jack Teeling’s whiskey distillery in Dublin’s historic Liberties area has also turned away some overseas visitors because they hadn’t isolated themselves for two weeks.
“It goes against everything we try to stand for in terms of a warm, friendly experience,” said Teeling. “It strikes me as extremely damaging for our overall tourist reputation.”
Back at the Moorings -- a popular stopping point for trips to see the jagged island of Skellig Michael, where part of the Star Wars series was filmed -- Kennedy has taken great care to safely reopen. Barmen wear visors, contact details are taken, and tables are spaced out.
In the end, the American scare proved a false alarm. It wasn’t a tourist but one of the 10,000 U.S. citizens who live in Ireland.
“It was funny,” said Kennedy, whose pub is near the jagged island of Skellig Michael. “But it just shows how nervous some are. Most of us are bit scared.”
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.