TheCity

Tag: Drinking

  • Twelve Pubs – Proceed with Caution

    Twelve Pubs – Proceed with Caution

    By Emma Darcy

    One night, 12 pubs, 12 drinks and 12 rules. Participated in by the masses every Christmas, either in their own locality or in Dublin City, 12 pubs has become somewhat of a necessity in the run up towards Christmas, and it is often described by attendees as one of the best nights of the year.

    However, with rules and regulations surrounding the evening, such as penalties for finishing a drink last, holding a drink in the wrong hand, swearing (the penalties being a shot no less), it can be a night full of pressure and drinking more than your body can handle.

    Ignoring slagging from peers means participants can enjoy their evening with bottles instead of pints and even making sure to get the glasses of water in, which means the 12 pub goal might actually be in sight.

    The question is, are we turning a blind eye to the dangerous ‘tradition’ which promotes a night of binge drinking, or are we ruining a fun once-a-year event with all this seriousness.

    “The notion that you need to drink pints at the same pace as the person beside you is just naïve”

    Miriam Taber of Drink Aware believes 12 pubs is not just harmless fun, and it is important to acknowledge the risks involved: “We know how different people’s bodies can react to alcohol, and the notion that you need to drink pints at the same pace as the person beside you is just naïve. There is no shame in not being able to “keep up” and there’s no reason why you can’t substitute a pint for a glass of water in every other pub. There is already a perception of Irish culture and our relationship with drinking and the whole twelve pubs thing just feeds into it.”

    The  12 pubs tradition completely dismisses all guidelines and advice we know to be true when it comes to nights out drinking, but nobody wants to put a downer on a great night out: “Nobody is saying don’t go, there is no reason to miss a night out with your friends. It is all about knowing your limits and once you are aware of the way your body reacts to alcohol, you can easily enjoy it but not abuse it.” She said.

    So, there it is, even though it’s difficult to recommend a night out that demands you drink 12 drinks, how could anybody miss out on one of the most festive and cheerful nights. So go and have fun, but know when to order a glass of water, know when to say no to a shot of baby Guinness and most importantly, know when you need to call it a night. 

  • New alcohol laws put in place to tackle Ireland’s binge drinking problem

    New alcohol laws put in place to tackle Ireland’s binge drinking problem

    New minimum prices on some alcoholic beverages will effectively ban the low-cost sales of alcoholic products.

    The proposed law of a minimum unit pricing of 10 cent per gram of alcohol will mainly affect drinks with higher alcohol content levels and the majority of alcohol products will not be impacted at all.

    The minimum costs under the new rules will work out as follows:

    • A 500 ml can of Guinness — €1.66
    • 750 ml bottle of Jacob’s Creek classic Chardonnay — €7.52
    • 700 ml bottle of Gordon’s dry gin — €20.71
    • 700 ml bottle of Smirnoff Ice — €20.71
    • 700 ml bottle of Jameson whiskey — €22.09
    • 500 ml can of Dutch Gold – €1.58

    Minister for Health Simon Harris said: “This is about targeting the cheapest drinks which have high alcohol content and … we all noted it is about ensuring that we are having a particular impact on our younger citizens and the next generation of citizens and decision makers in this country.”

    According to figures released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) in 2015, nearly a quarter (23%) of Ireland’s young people aged between 15 and 24 binge drank at least once a week. In that study, binge drinking was classified as drinking six or more units of alcohol in one sitting.

     

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    Sixteen percent of those who drink alcohol, stated that they have binge drank at least once a week, which is an increase from 13.7 percent the previous year.  This is well above the EU average of 5.6 percent in 2014.

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    There is a significant difference between the percentage of Irish males and females who engage in binge drinking. In 2014,  just under one in six (15.5 percent) Irish women aged 18 to 24 engaged in binge drinking at least once a week, which is the highest rate in the EU, and well above the EU average of 4.3 percent. However, the male average was much higher at 26.8 percent for 18 to 24 year olds that same year, which was more than double the EU average of 11.7 percent.

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    The proposed alcohol laws will most likely affect these statistics, as young people in Ireland may need to switch to cheaper beverages with lower alcohol contents, or engage in binge drinking less frequently.

    By Alison Egan

  • Top Five traditions for St. Patrick’s Day in Ireland

    St. Patrick’s Day in Ireland is one of celebration and fun, a time to spend together with friends and family and the one day you’re allowed to break lent. St. Patrick’s Day is a day filled with traditions and superstitions. St Patrick’s Day in Ireland is a day to celebrate our heritage and be proud to be Irish.

    1. The Parade

    Every Irish household knows about the St. Patricks day parade, and if they don’t they are not truly Irish! If you are not going to attend the parade then you are most likely sitting at home watching it on the television. Every year, RTE film the parade from start to finish. David Fallon who blogged live from the parade last year describes the parade in his own words, “I remember an Irish wolfhound the size of a bungalow trotting in front of the tooting Boston bands, and youngsters peering over their parents’ head via makeshift ladders. Everyone in the crowd had two things in common- green gear and smiles”.

    1. Themes

    Each year the parade is based around a specific theme that is evident throughout the parade. In 2014 the theme was ‘Let’s Make History’. This year the theme will explore the ‘Present’ with the theme for 2016 being ‘Future’.

    1. Céilí dance

    Céilí dancing is a popular form of folk dancing that is practiced predominantly in the Gaeltacht areas. But around St.Patrick’s day schools across the country begin to hold Céilí dances and teach the students popular Céilí dances.

    1. Music

    The culture of Irish music is being forgotten along with the Irish Language. St. Patrick’s Day is vital for the survival of Irish folk music. The Pogues and The Dubliners version of Irish Rover is a traditional St Patrick’s day song along with “Some say the Devil is Dead” written by Derek Warfield, who is an Irish Singer, songwriter and the founding member of the music group the Wolfe Tones. “Molly Malone” and “The Fields of Athenry” are two very popular Irish songs that are sung or played in the majority of Irish pubs on St. Patrick’s Day.

    1. Drinking

    St. Patrick’s Day is the one day of the year when it is considered acceptable to get very drunk. Family members gather together to have dinner and a few pints in pubs across Ireland to chat about the Parade and hear bands play traditional Irish Music.

    St. Patrick’s Day is a very sociable day, family member’s gather to attend the parade. There are a lot of activities taking place on St. Patrick’s Day including; face painting, many performances by hip-hop groups as well as traditional Céilí dancing. The day begins with getting the kids dressed up for the parade, but ends with a few pints of Guinness in the local pub.

    By Hannan Raisuni