DUBLIN－It's happy hour in Dublin and the drinks are flowing, but in Ireland's first "dry pub" patrons are forgoing Guinness and whiskey for non-boozy beers and zero percent wine.

The Virgin Mary, which opened this month, bucks the trend in a city where nightlife is fueled by stout and spirits, offering a menu of entirely nonalcoholic beverages.

Thronging with customers within minutes of opening one weekday afternoon, the pub's popularity is viewed by its owners as a sign that hard-drinking Ireland may be changing its ways.

"Drinking is ingrained in society here," said co-founder Vaughan Yates, 51, a veteran of the drinks industry.

"However, if you look at the Irish, they are a very progressive nation, they are a very liberal nation, they're very open to change.

"I think there's a real cultural shift happening globally toward alcohol and we're really at the forefront of it."

Oisin Davis, the pub's other co-founder with whom Yates works in a company making drinks mixers, said they had noticed nonalcoholic options increasingly appearing on menus and decided there could be a niche for a no-alcohol pub.

A sober night out

Like many other countries, Ireland is currently in the midst of a wellness craze driven by visual social media platforms like Instagram.

Festooned with florid garnishes and served in delicate glassware, many drinks at The Virgin Mary offer customers a "shareable" photogenic product, with bragging rights that they avoided a hangover after a night on the town.

"I do think that there is this movement toward wellness, and I think that our drinks probably reflect that," Yates said.

Dublin has just hosted a wellness festival attended by yoga teachers, mindfulness practitioners and nutritionists, among others.

Changes in diet are evident, with options for oat milk, coconut milk and a plethora of other alternatives to regular milk becoming the norm in cafes.

Health food business The Happy Pear that encourages people to eat more vegetables through courses, cafes, recipes and products, is hugely popular－twin brother owners Dave and Steve Flynn tout their early morning sea swims as part of their wellness routine on Instagram.

Yates said that there had been "doubters", whom he described as mainly online "keyboard warriors", but that the reaction had been overwhelmingly positive.

Whether the dry bar can survive the competitive night life industry in Dublin－a city where the pub still reigns supreme－is yet to be seen.

Paula Gearty was one of the first through the doors on the opening night.

"It's actually quite nice to just have something different," the 49-year-old said, after ordering a glass of alcohol-free white wine and posing for a photo with work friends at the bar.

"I think it sounds refreshing, it's a novelty."