Drinking on good Friday

mikemac

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

...and it was.

Mind you, we drank like fishes as well.

robinph

micmclo wrote:

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

Prohibition does not work though.

Mossy Monk

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

Mossy Monk wrote:

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

Explain why?

Blush_01

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Stephenm

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

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

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.

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

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.

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

Mossy Monk

It is law.

Then Sean Moncrief is full of ****.

faceman

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

faceman wrote:

...when did it become outdated?

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