But now families in lockdown are rediscovering the lost pleasure of a leisurely breakfast.

As everyone embraces a return to long-forgotten morning routines, sales of eggs are soaring.

The owner of one of Fermanagh’s biggest egg suppliers Sydare Eggs in Ballinamallard, Joe Maguire who runs the company with his son Ciaran, said their customer base has changed a lot over the past seven or eight weeks. 

He explained, “At the beginning of the lockdown we were worried because overnight we lost all of our hotel, restaurant and cafe business but we were pleasantly surprised by the sudden uptake in other lines.

“Our egg sales in local shops soared not just because of more people being at home and having a traditional breakfast but also because of families wanting to bake more bread and cakes and involve young children who are off school.”

All this has been borne out by national surveys showing that across the country people in lockdown are reverting to more traditional lifestyles emulating their parents and grandparents.

Mr Maguire continued, “Our farm gate customers are telling us that they are really enjoying the family baking experience. 

Children are loving the whole craic of breaking eggs into flour mixing it all up and then enjoying the fruits of their labour together as a family. Hopefully this trend will continue,” he said.

Mr Maguire and his family at Sydare Eggs, which is celebrating 50 years in business this year, hopes that this change in society brought about by coronavirus will continue into the future and that something positive can come out of something very negative. 

“Wouldn’t it be great,” he said, “that when we come out of this pandemic we had a new generation of young home bakers who will continue the tradition into the future.”