>>509027457
1970 was not too far off of Ireland's population low. There were tons of excess homes. Here in the US, we were importing pubs from Ireland like crazy because they were nearly free for anyone willing to take them apart and ship them across the Atlantic.
Then immigration happened, the population caught up with the housing supply and then exceeded it. The beer supply however was easier to keep up with the population growth, especially since many of the "New Irish" don't drink alcohol.