Drinking on good Friday

06-04-2007 2:00am

I don't know why you're all dragging the church into this... it's not the church who make laws, its the government.

Countries like Spain, Italy , Brazil, Mexico, Poland, etc. are far more or as much "Catholic" than Ireland and you'd have no problem getting a pint in any of them tommorrow.

brianthebard · 06-04-2007 2:06am

When you get down to it, its the principal of the thing, isn't it?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DvSojoFQ_0

Fighting Irish · 06-04-2007 5:35am

sure make a thread about it

DarkJager · 06-04-2007 5:41am

Blah, who cares about ****in "awful" Friday anyway?? I'm all stocked up and off to the local at 12pm for a nice cold pint.... MUWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

Rabies · 06-04-2007 6:01am

We planned on opening at midnight tonight, Friday nights are usually very busy for us. The manager changed his mind a few days ago

I would like to see pubs have the option to open 24/7 apart from christmas day.

cournioni · 06-04-2007 8:12am

Whoops, I voted yes by accident. Make that -1 yes, and no +1. I'm crossing the border into Crossmaglen to have a few drinks tonight. It's only right.

JC 2K3 · 06-04-2007 12:25pm

faceman wrote:

The way some people have been moaning about the insignificance of good friday in modern day society is hypocritical. I wonder how many of the hypocrites on this thread dont celebrate christmas mirroring their view on good friday.

No one is forced to celebrate their winter holidays in a certain way and no one should be forced to celebrate their Friday off in a certain way either.

What's hypocritical about this way of thinking?

BeatNikDub · 06-04-2007 12:44pm

I shall be drinking and having a bbq with lots of meat!!

kenzie · 06-04-2007 12:57pm

I personally don't mind going without drink one Friday of the year but I don't think it should be impossible for you to buy drink if you want to. I think it's a bit dated when were supposed to be a 'multi-cultural' Ireland now!

Giblet · 06-04-2007 1:13pm

event wrote:

ah boo hoo

some people are hilarious, wont have gone out for the past few weeks but as soon as they cant drink on friday, will go mad for drink

people stocking up and buying loads of drink this week?
for what, do you normally do that on every other friday?

Have you forgotten it's a long weekend?

petes · 06-04-2007 1:25pm

I'm heading acoss the border myself for a few.

It was my birthday during the week and I wasn't wee:(

Make up for it over the weekend!

wayne040576 · 06-04-2007 6:27pm

Giblet wrote:

Have you forgotten it's a long weekend?

So what?
I've no liking for the church or it's hold on this country but I think this is a great eye opener into the Irish mentality.
It really shows how boring Irish people are. Take away their drink for one day and they bitch and moan and stock up and act like it's the end of the world.
You see people coming out of off licences on the Thursday with trays of booze, bloody hilarious. Are you all that weak that you can't think of something else to do for one day? Have a family get together, go to the cinema, go do some social activity that doesn't envolve getting pissed for once.

Blush_01 · 06-04-2007 7:47pm

It's ridiculous. It really highlights the general character of the Irish nation.

Suaimhneach · 06-04-2007 11:42pm

A religious hoilday should be a choice for those of that religion, and not forced on everyone else. The state should not support a law of a church.

But, as is the case in Ireland, the church and the state are in bed together, and the church is on top.

And dont give me that "one day of the year" bull****e. There are *many* days of the year where I don't drink... I shouldnt have a law forced upon me against my will because of outdated governments and backwards churches.

brianthebard · 07-04-2007 12:03am

Jesjes wrote:

A religious hoilday should be a choice for those of that religion, and not forced on everyone else. The state should not support a law of a church.

But, as is the case in Ireland, the church and the state are in bed together, and the church is on top.

Its a British licensing law that's been kept over. Same with opening on Sunday or closing time at night. Why do you think our licensing laws are stricter than those on the continent?

dregin · 07-04-2007 12:13am

/me drinks a toast to the seperation of church and state....................

Blush_01 · 07-04-2007 12:50am

Nice timing, Dregin!

Suaimhneach · 07-04-2007 1:20am

brianthebard wrote:

Its a British licensing law that's been kept over. Same with opening on Sunday or closing time at night. Why do you think our licensing laws are stricter than those on the continent?

Because we are suffering the hangover of a government/society that is structured to give to the queen. So many things should have changed that weren't. Many of our laws are out dated and pointless. This one is the just the current farce we're suffering.

Damn the man.

brianthebard · 07-04-2007 1:44am

Jesjes wrote:

Because we are suffering the hangover of a government/society that is structured to give to the queen. So many things should have changed that weren't. Many of our laws are out dated and pointless. This one is the just the current farce we're suffering.

Damn the man.

That's right, fight the powa!! Nothing beats the man at his own game than b!tching on an internet board!¬!!!!!

Guy:Incognito · 07-04-2007 1:55am

jimi_t wrote:

Who said anything about getting off work? IT IS NOT A BANK HOLIDAY. Just because some business decide to take the day off, doesn't mean all businesses do.

Actually, IT IS A BANK HOLIDAY. It's not however, a public holiday.

faceman wrote:

Im all for pubs closing on good friday. People stocking up on drink is comical. If it keeps people out of the pub and doing other things then it cant be a bad thing. .

Actually the only "other things" it makes a lot of people do is drink. It gets a lot of people who otherwise would work and maybe go to the pub for a few drink on a friday night to all of a sudden decide to spend the whoel day and/or night drinking and having parties.

The fact of it is that its the principal of it. I couldnt care less if pubs decided off their own back to close 4 nights a week. I dont however agree with them being told they have to close on a particular day. Most/every other business can choose whether or not to close or stay open on Good Friday/Christmas day. Why should a pub be any different.

A lot of English people use the pub on Chistmas day to have Christmas dinner there, whats wrong with that?

mikemac · 07-04-2007 2:13am

I welcome it and if there is ever a country that could do a pub-free day it's this one.

Off topic but this whole furore reminds of Japan/Korea 2002.
Maybe you don't remember but there was huge coverage over whether or not, pubs could serve drink for the early kickoffs (around 8am afaik). It was a major dicussion topic at the time and people were wondering would pubs get exemptions from licencing law and I remember the gardai visiting pubs to check no alcohol was being served.

Sick of the whole drink culture in the country. One lousy day and there almost two hundred votes asking for pubs to be open. Not trying to come across as "holier than thou" and I'd enjoy a few drinks as much as the next person but maybe an enforced closing for one day is a good thing for all.

As another poster said, perfect day for a barbeque

RoundyMooney · 07-04-2007 2:38am

...and it was.

Mind you, we drank like fishes as well.

robinph · 07-04-2007 6:18am

micmclo wrote:

... but maybe an enforced closing for one day is a good thing for all.

Prohibition does not work though.

Mossy Monk · 07-04-2007 9:14am

micmclo wrote:

Not trying to come across as "holier than thou" and I'd enjoy a few drinks as much as the next person but maybe an enforced closing for one day is a good thing for all.

What else is good for the populace? Maybe supermarkets should have been closed yesterday too, afterall they sell meat and we know that some meat will make people go mental. And let's not forget the staff deserved the day off too. Supermarkets are open every day of the year except for Christmas Day. That's not fair on the staff is it? Oh yes, what i just said is a load of bull****. All businesses should be given the option of being allowed to open or close if they wish. If the staff don't like it then maybe they should have thought about that before applying for their job.

faceman · 07-04-2007 9:50am

Mossy Monk wrote:

All businesses should be given the option of being allowed to open or close if they wish.

Explain why?

Blush_01 · 07-04-2007 10:42am

Mossy Monk wrote:

[...]and we know that some meat will make people go mental.

Which meat is this? I must get me some o' that!

WindSock · 07-04-2007 11:30am

A stop whinging that the pubs and offies are closed for one bloody day (or 2 for christmas) I think it's hysterical when everyone stocks up like booze is going out of fashion. If we can't go to pubs then we can go to parties, which are a lot more fun and sociable anyways. I like the tradition, keep it I say. It's nice for a change to not have all us boozing paddies pissing on the streets, just for one day/night.

Suaimhneach · 07-04-2007 11:32am

brianthebard wrote:

That's right, fight the powa!! Nothing beats the man at his own game than b!tching on an internet board!¬!!!!!

Yeah, because obviously we're all suffering terribly from sharing an opinion. The irony and futility of your statement pleases me greatly.

Mossy Monk · 07-04-2007 12:04pm

faceman wrote:

Explain why?

There is nothing to explain. A pub is as much a valid business as say a shop. Why aren't the shops forced to close? Can you give me a reason why they should be closed? And don't bother with the staff need a day off bull****. They get the same days off the rest of use get.

Mossy Monk · 07-04-2007 12:06pm

boreds wrote:

I like the tradition, keep it I say

If you like the tradition then don't go to the pub. If you like a tradition then why should everyone else have to live with it?

WindSock · 07-04-2007 12:10pm

Mossy Monk wrote:

If you like the tradition then don't go to the pub. If you like a tradition then why should everyone else have to live with it?

I could not go to the pub on any other day. It is more interesting and atmospheric when we are all denied entry for one day. there are 50 odd other Fridays in the year to go to the pub for f sake. We have just turned into a spoiled little consumer nation and expect everything to be available to us and our money all the feckin day long. Take a break from it and enjoy not parting with the cash in the bar for a day.

Stephenm · 07-04-2007 12:10pm

faceman wrote:

Explain why?

Free Market. Civil Liberty.

I'm saddened at how accepting the Irish are of this outdated law. It is religious discrimination. Do we close all pubs for Ramadan?

Mossy Monk · 07-04-2007 12:14pm

boreds wrote:

It is more interesting and atmospheric when we are all denied entry for one day

It is ridiculous that we aren't given the freedom to do choose if we want to or not. It is ridiculous that pub landlords aren't given the option of opening if they wish to do so.

brianthebard · 07-04-2007 12:20pm

Stephenm wrote:

Free Market. Civil Liberty.

I'm saddened at how accepting the Irish are of this outdated law. It is religious discrimination. Do we close all pubs for Ramadan?

Only took 7 pages to chuck in discrimination. I'm sure yous are all worried about the poor muslims? Alcohol is prohibited under Islamic food laws, so should be be closing pubs everyday in the interests of battling religious discrimination??

PHB · 07-04-2007 12:26pm

Problem is, because its good Friday, everybody stocks up before hand, so there is some serious drinking, but in turn, we tend to run out of drink, and want more drink. But if it was allowed, we wouldn't be drinking, since its not banned, so it wouldn't matter.

Its an unsolvable situation I'm afraid.

brianthebard · 07-04-2007 12:29pm

PHB wrote:

Problem is, because its good Friday, everybody stocks up before hand, so there is some serious drinking, but in turn, we tend to run out of drink, and want more drink. But if it was allowed, we wouldn't be drinking, since its not banned, so it wouldn't matter.

Its an unsolvable situation I'm afraid.

doubt that tbh.

Mossy Monk · 07-04-2007 12:29pm

brianthebard wrote:

I'm sure yous are all worried about the poor muslims? Alcohol is prohibited under Islamic food laws, so should be be closing pubs everyday in the interests of battling religious discrimination??

That is a religious belief, far from being the same as a government ban. If alcohol was banned in this country we wouldnt be complaining about pubs on Good Friday now would we. Other drugs are banned in this country but we don't see people screaming for heroin to be legalised. Our licensing laws are backwards.

Mossy Monk · 07-04-2007 12:31pm

brianthebard wrote:

doubt that tbh.

Really? Do you think that people who buy crates of drink on Holy Thursday would drink that much on a normal Friday? Of course they wouldn't.

delta_bravo · 07-04-2007 1:03pm

Zebra3 wrote:

People should organise pickets outside their local RC church when they're having the stations of the Cross on GF as protest against church interference in the state.

Church interference? This law has been in place since the 1830's where the Catholic church had no influence. The dominant religion in terms of power was the protestant church at the time. I hate these threads. People always use it to take a few jabs at the Catholic church

JC 2K3 · 07-04-2007 1:29pm

^Indeed. Come on people. Direct your jabs at Christianity in general, not just Catholicism.

Stephenm · 07-04-2007 2:52pm

brianthebard wrote:

Only took 7 pages to chuck in discrimination. I'm sure yous are all worried about the poor muslims? Alcohol is prohibited under Islamic food laws, so should be be closing pubs everyday in the interests of battling religious discrimination??

Frankly I have no time for any religious movement, amongst other flaws they simply create difference where there is none. I do worry about children being endoctrinated in to any religion.
I am interested in Civil Liberty. Why have licencing laws effected by one religion and not another? In a democracy laws should not be effected by any religion. If a pub owner chooses to close their pub that's fine, but they should have the option of opening, let the market decide.

While we're on the subject of civil liberties I wonder why pubs don't have the option of 24 hour opening. I believe that pubs should be deregulated (so someone can open a pub if they want and not have to wait for a licence to be come available). optional 24 hour opening would have the following advantages:
I believe it would end most of the fighting and trouble that now happens at pub closing time, This would take pressure off Guards and A&E, not to mention pressure off taxis. It would also allow people to drink at a rate that they choose, no more fighting to get served at the bar at the last minute only to be asked to leave a few minutes later.

The ONLY disadvantage I see is that publicans would have to pay their staff for longer hours and late hours. If they found it unprofitable they could close at a time of their choice, again let the market decide. (anyone remember the profession of the Bertigate donors?)

Election is coming up, mention it to polititions calling door to door.

Tobias Greeshman · 07-04-2007 7:00pm

Ah it's funny that every year people get hot n bothered about this on boards.

We are a mainly Catholic nation or so the our government likes to think, it's just an archaic law thats there from when the church had a say in the running of the state. At one stage there were no television programmes broadcast on good friday.

Not being religious myself I'd prefer to have the choice of whether I could drink or not on good friday. But really it's only one day.

What I always find funny is going into any supermarket on the night before good friday and seeing people buying drink as if there was an alcholic drought about to happen after mid-night, and their lives depended on buying insane amounts of alcohol to survive. Ah only in Ireland, I say.

barrett1965 · 07-04-2007 7:29pm

stipey wrote:

I don't drink and I don't believe in any god.

I may have been born and raised a Catholic but I despise how church ridden our country once was and, to a certain extent, still is.

If people have particularly strong religous beliefs and wish to adhere to them then I'm sure nobody would begrudge them that. However, I absolutely detest the amount of laws and practices that are part and parcel of this country only because of their links to Christianity - and Catholicism in particular.

No pubs opening on Good Friday is just the start of it in my opinion. So the Catholic church forbids the sale (and consumption) of alcohol on Good Friday and unfortunately for people of other religous beliefs they have to suffer too. (I know they can buy drink ahead of time - but why should be prevented going to their local just because the Catholic church don't think members of their flock should).

By the same logic, anywhere that serves food should be forced to close during the hours of daylight during Ramadan. We are a multi cultural society now after all.

All pork products should similarly be banned - permanantly! There are a great many Jewish people in our country - we have to cater for them too.

Turn on RTE at noon or 6pm and you get the Angelus. Does our national radio station broadcast muslim calls to prayer? In a PC move RTE tried to say it wasn't a religously motivated thing and was instead intended to offer people time to reflect. Bull**** - why is it still on at traditional Angelus times and why do their continuity announcers still refer to it as pausing for "the Angelus"

Aaarrrggghhh! I think i need to stop now before my head explodes. But in summary, my point is... why should the religous beliefs of a subset of our community be inflicted upon the entire nation through legislation?

I emailed RTE about this very same point a few years ago. I got a response from the religious department saying the very same thing about The Angeleus being a time for 'reflection' Poppycock. I don't want to go off-topic, but i wanted to concur with this previous post.

07-04-2007 7:44pm

As far as I know, there actually is no law saying pubs can't open on Good Friday and it's just a tradition. Apparently if an owner wanted to open the pub, they aren't breaking any law. Or so I heard on the radio on Thursday.

Guy:Incognito · 07-04-2007 7:54pm

Deleted User wrote:

As far as I know, there actually is no law saying pubs can't open on Good Friday and it's just a tradition. Apparently if an owner wanted to open the pub, they aren't breaking any law. Or so I heard on the radio on Thursday.

They can open the pub all they want (not sure if they can legally, i just mean if they decided to) but they cant serve alcohol.

07-04-2007 7:55pm

But is that an actual written law or something we all take for granted?

Mossy Monk · 07-04-2007 8:36pm

It is law.

07-04-2007 10:13pm

Then Sean Moncrief is full of ****.

faceman · 09-04-2007 5:09pm

Stephenm wrote:

I'm saddened at how accepting the Irish are of this outdated law. It is religious discrimination. Do we close all pubs for Ramadan?

of course not, the percentage of the population that are muslim are few people short of those who are christian. Oh and muslims arent not permitted to drink so by right by your argument, alcohol should be banned outright. Would that make you happier?

Why do you feel its outdated and when did it become outdated?

Crucifix · 09-04-2007 5:15pm

faceman wrote:

...when did it become outdated?

1973?
Edit: Don't worry, I know it's not specifically the catholic church's fault

Drinking on good Friday

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