No drinking culture in Ireland

SimpleSam06

Sounds mad right? Ireland with no drinking culture... only a few years ago however, that was the fact of the matter, regardless of stereotypes of drunken paddies. What has changed, why are people drinking more and more? Is it just that there is nothing else to do, or can we blame massive marketing campaigns by the booze peddlers?

Until recently, Ireland's per capita alcohol consumption was far behind countries where a drink is part of the daily routine, like a glass of wine in France, Italy or Greece.

''For a long time we were actually quite abstemious compared to other European cultures,'' said Liz McManus, health spokeswoman for the Labor Party. ''Very heavy drinking was confined to very heavy drinkers.''

But over the last decade, the Irish have caught up to their European counterparts with astonishing speed. Annual consumption per Irish adult rose gradually to 10.6 quarts of pure alcohol in 1985 from 4.2 quarts in 1960. It jumped to nearly 15.8 quarts in 2000. The European Union average is about 9.5 quarts.

MikeHoncho

Those figures are 7 years old by the looks of it. Id say the situation is even worse now. I think we drink to numb the pain of our worker ant / consumer lifestyle. I honestly dont think alot of people have any hobbys and interests anymore. One of my goals for the next year is to change my lifestyle to one that involves activities rather than just drinking. So if there isnt something on (birthday, gig etc) I wont be just going out and getting locked for the sake of it.

kaalgat

People see their parents drinking, their friends drinking, college mates drinking.
So why would you do it any other way?

It has become "cool" to drink.
Which it shouldn't be

mikemac

Total generalisation here but here what my French teacher explained to us.

A French person would have one or two drinks after dinner most evenings. Most likely some good wine.

An Irish person wouldn't drink every evening but for two or three nights a week, would consume a huge amount of drink.

So at the end of the week, an Irish person and and a French person would have consumed a similar amount of alcohol.
But there's a huge difference in how it was done

Duggy747

Teens living in towns take up drinking cuz besides Gaelic and Soccer there's nothing else to do.......period! It's a peer thing and / or usually a social thing in school e.g. cool to drink. I pretty much lived this as a teen (As a lot have) and now I'm pretty much part of the work force though I'm nearly finished college. Honestly I'm never bothered about drinking until I really feel like it anymore. I'll only go to the pub of a Fri & Sat and even at that I drink roughly 4 - 5 Guinness's a night. That been said though I'm just after coming back from a crazy binge 21st up in Galway and if I see another unit of beer I'll crumble.

Agamemnon

Well the main reason we're drinking more is because we have a lot more money to spend on drink now. As micmclo pointed out, we have do most of our drinking over one or two nights at the weekend. The British are the same way.

MikeHoncho wrote:

I think we drink to numb the pain of our worker ant / consumer lifestyle.

Is that true for most people? I drink because it's a bloody good laugh. We all drink from time to time when we're depressed, but most people use alcohol recreationally, rather than self-medicating for depression.

seamus

I would say the main difference is money.

We drink more now because we can afford to.

I'd say there's also a secondary cause from the stress/hecticness of getting that money in the first place.

You can also point to other social factors:
- People getting married & having children later (those with children being less likely to go get pissed 3 nights a week)
- People spending more time in third-level education

In terms of socialising, there are really only two things you can do if you are a largish group - go to someone's home, or go to a pub. Either way, everyone ends up with a drink in front of them, and stays there all night.

biko

I noticed that in Scandinavia and France you tend to go to cafés often, rather than the pub. But after three cups of coffee you start getting the shakes

Jumpy

I think the biggest reason is what else is there to do?

melekalikimaka

Jumpy wrote:

I think the biggest reason is what else is there to do?

exactly. if i agree to meet with friends in the evening there are very few options
a. go drinking
b. cinema - fooking mad amount of money especially with the internet
c. go to one of our houses and watch said movie for free ( a few have nice home cinema set ups), but thats pending on house not being occupied.
d. a gig, tho drinking is also involved in that
e. comedy club, as above

no cafes open late here. i personally drink a fair bit, i find if i dont drink for 4 days, on the fifth day when i drink i get hammered rather quickly, its quite bad when it reaches that point, but until i awake in a police cell, nothing shall change

Don1

Too much money and nothing to spend it on definately. That' what happened to me anyway. Now I'm border line broke! (not due to alcohol, other purchases plus not working since October as I'm in college) Although I still find myself at a loose end in the evenings, as I hate sitting in front of the idiot box. Solution = pub! :rolleyes:

shane86

SimpleSam06 wrote:

Sounds mad right? Ireland with no drinking culture... only a few years ago however, that was the fact of the matter, regardless of stereotypes of drunken paddies. What has changed, why are people drinking more and more? Is it just that there is nothing else to do, or can we blame massive marketing campaigns by the booze peddlers?

Id imagine the surveys back in the day were much less detailed, this country has been known for drinking since the famine at least. Im no fan of Family Guy (mainly for the same reasons Cartman isnt, its unintelligent sh1te) but the decent Ireland episode got it in one. I have no problem with it at all, despite what you read O`Connell Street/Temple Bar etc on a Saturday night isnt half as dangerous as most towns down the country (one of my mates said he has never been on a country session without someone attempting to instigate a fight. Few actually turned into a brawl as we couldnt be arsed but still, rowdy folks there). Drinking is a part of our culture and it hasnt yet reached any sort of dangerous level imo. I think more in the countryside would have a drink problem, possibly because its cheaper to drink all day in the pub.

megadodge

Ireland's drunken image is well earned and always has been.

The figures from 10+ years ago are very misleading and this has been well documented. The reason being that until recently Ireland had a disproportionately high amount of abstainers (due mainly to the Church-led Pioneer movement). As a result when spread over the entire population the amount drank per capita looked relatively average by European standards.

The reality was that those that drank in Ireland have in general always drank heavily compared to other countries and as someone already alluded to the Irish drinking tends to be done in a 3-4 day burst rather than a few glasses of wine every day, which makes it even more obvious.

Having said that, there is no doubt that with the increased wealth in the last 10+ years and the waning influence of the Church there is more being drank than previously, especially by the very young (teens with well-paid part-time jobs still living with the parents), but that's only because heavy drinking is and always has been very acceptable in Ireland !

The 'nothing to do' excuse doesn't wash too well with me personally either, as years ago my buddies always used that very excuse (I'm from a small provincial town with lots of facilities if you actually bother looking), yet when I was living in Brooklyn NY, my cousin there used the exact same excuse !
That's when it dawned on me that it's not the place - it's the person !

Plissken1

I have been watching the Teenagers in my area, they have been drinking every single night since last Thursday week, mostly cans and wine. They were sitting on a wall doing shots of vodka with the bottle cap on Friday, then Saturday and Sunday it was back to the cans of Dutch Gold. As for the Adults, well I dont think they drink during the week, but then on Friday its hell for leather, with drunk people falling around everywhere. I saw the cops peel a guy off the bonet of a car yesterday afternoon, he had fallen asleep, his drunk mates were pleading with the cops to let him go. But they took him back to the station. There was also a guy asleep in the chipper window, snuggling upto that well known Irish dish the Snack Box !!.

And don't be throwing stats around, just get down into the trenches and have a look, anyone with any sense can see that Ireland has, and always had a serious alcohol problem.

kevmy

2 reasons for increase in drink.

1) Much more young people in Ireland in the last 10 years. For a number of reasons - baby boom, no emigration. Young people drink more as they have less responsibilities and less sense

2) People have more money. Therefore have more money to spend on drink.

Any other factor was around before that and the increase in drinking cannot be attributed to then. ie. there was nothing to do in the 80's but apparently people didn't drink as much

cooperguy

MikeHoncho wrote:

I think we drink to numb the pain of our worker ant / consumer lifestyle.

Thats crap. I drink because I have a good time when I do and so do my friends. I have no "pain" to numb. There is way too much amateur psychology going on when it comes to this issue.

People are drinking more because most people have alot more money to spend on drinking/socializing (celtic tiger and all that jazz). They would have done it 40 years ago but people didnt have the money to, its as simple as that.

ballooba

There was a perfectly good thread dealing with this and other issues. It was closed for no apparent reason. I think it wasn't in keeping with the usual toilet humour and general trivialities of AH.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055108607

Pherekydes

True. 40 years ago people were too busy saving to buy their houses. Now, people stay at home with mummy until they're 45 and then expect mummy and daddy to help them buy their houses.

Plissken1

I was around in the 80's, and believe me people drank, and drank .... and drank some more. Maybe we just got drunk more quickly, thus drinking less, due to the fact that we were not fat lazy slobs like todays Ireland ??, its just one possibility.

SimpleSam06

shane86 wrote:

Id imagine the surveys back in the day were much less detailed, this country has been known for drinking since the famine at least.

megadodge wrote:

Ireland's drunken image is well earned and always has been.

The figures from 10+ years ago are very misleading and this has been well documented.

I'm just going to go right ahead and call bullshit on the pair of you, until you can come up with some solid facts, and links to support them.

Jumpy

cooperguy wrote:

There is way too much amateur psychology going on when it comes to this issue.

AHHHHH SCIENTOLOGIST! *points* FLEEEEE

Jumpy

Tar.Aldarion wrote:

I rarely ever drink, am in a full time job and never have money. Where do you people get it eh?

I am like you. I used to go out a lot, but Ireland got way more expensive.

Tar.Aldarion

I rarely ever drink, am in a full time job and never have money. Where do you people get it eh?

Don1

Tar, I find that if you go without food every now and again you get the two pronged effect of having dough for booze and an empty stomach to speed the process along!! :D:D

Tar.Aldarion

Ah yeah, I think I only had seven meals last year.
OI think I'll have my ESB disconnected.

cooperguy

Jumpy wrote:

AHHHHH SCIENTOLOGIST! *points* FLEEEEE

Hmm I dont know whether your agreeing with me or taking the piss out of me!

b00ms

i am working in the bar trade the past twelve years and you wouldnt think people are drinking at all the past two years. i think the smoking ban was a catalyst to encourage drinking at home. once people realised how much they were getting ripped off in the local boozer and actually how cheap the off-licence can be that it encouraged a trend of house parties and barbecues and if ya still like the atmos of the pub just head down for the last hour
but of course we as a nation enjoy a good knees up and the price of a pint can now buy three cans of the same. so yes we can easily afford copious amounts of beer and spirits but the pub is only getting the business at the end of the night but add it all together and there is a lot more alcohol being consumed

5starpool

I drink a hell of a lot less than I used to.

Jumpy

cooperguy wrote:

Hmm I dont know whether your agreeing with me or taking the piss out of me!

Taking the piss. In a nice way though.

cooperguy

Jumpy wrote:

Taking the piss. In a nice way though.

Im still right tho:D

tampopo

agamemnon wrote:

Is that true for most people? I drink because it's a bloody good laugh. We all drink from time to time when we're depressed, but most people use alcohol recreationally, rather than self-medicating for depression.

I believe people are, or can be depressed from drinking, not drinking because they're depressed.

Tar.Aldarion

It varies, it can be both.

gyppo

b00ms wrote:

i am working in the bar trade the past twelve years and you wouldnt think people are drinking at all the past two years. i think the smoking ban was a catalyst to encourage drinking at home. once people realised how much they were getting ripped off in the local boozer and actually how cheap the off-licence can be that it encouraged a trend of house parties and barbecues and if ya still like the atmos of the pub just head down for the last hour
but of course we as a nation enjoy a good knees up and the price of a pint can now buy three cans of the same. so yes we can easily afford copious amounts of beer and spirits but the pub is only getting the business at the end of the night but add it all together and there is a lot more alcohol being consumed

Totally agree. Bars that were doing a steady trade for years are now only opening during the evenings.
Anyone got any stats on the amount of violence in the homeplace in the last number of years. Is there any increase, and if so, is there a corelation to the amount of drinking that now goes on in the home? Has to be the subject of a thesis for someone...

scojones

Tar.Aldarion wrote:

I rarely ever drink, am in a full time job and never have money. Where do you people get it eh?

That's because you spend all your money on hair extensions.

ferdi

b00ms wrote:

i am working in the bar trade the past twelve years and you wouldnt think people are drinking at all the past two years. i think the smoking ban was a catalyst to encourage drinking at home. once people realised how much they were getting ripped off in the local boozer and actually how cheap the off-licence can be that it encouraged a trend of house parties and barbecues and if ya still like the atmos of the pub just head down for the last hour

bingo. and i have no sympathy for publicans whatsoever, they constantly rip people off and i hate giving them any of my money.

Dooom

agamemnon wrote:

We all drink from time to time when we're depressed, but most people use alcohol recreationally, rather than self-medicating for depression.

I though alcohol was a depressant?

Agamemnon

It is, but it can act as a stimulant as well. Click here for the science bit. Most people will be cheered up by a few drinks when they're depressed over something.

alan4cult

I think maybe that drink being cheaper and a wider selection is the main factor. Stores like Aldi and Lidl selling cheap lager, cider and many brands of vodka being sold nowadays in other stores.

I've noticed this thread also tending towards the youth and who to blame. Does the increase in the youth population really mean more drinking among them. I mean it is still down to the fact that the trend comes from there parents.

Tar.Aldarion

scojones wrote:

That's because you spend all your money on hair extensions.

How much did your human hair wig cost?
Those things are about a grand yeah?

Ibjiba

Might be the economic boom.. People don't know where to put their money?

Acid_Violet

To be fair, we have THE EXACT SAME drinking culture with Britain. I think it's for a number of reasons, but they can be categorised easily;

1. Money, more money to spend on drink, the same way that if you did athletics you'd spend money on gear for that.

2. Drinking is cool, is what everyone else does, teenagers and adults alike don't want to get left behind when they go to the pub.

3. We don't drink for pleasure or with food as they do in mainland Europe so we incorporate it into our culture by binging because we simply don't know another way and because it's addictive.

4. Going to the pub/nightclub is recreational and I'd say going out and getting pished at the weekends is what keeps some people going in their boring crappy tough jobs tbh!

5. The 'fun' and good feeling people get with drinking, even if they always make complete tools out of themselves. It's addictive and gratifying.

kevmy

alan4cult wrote:

I've noticed this thread also tending towards the youth and who to blame. Does the increase in the youth population really mean more drinking among them. I mean it is still down to the fact that the trend comes from there parents.

No No. It's just young people (by that I mean between 16-25) don't have responsibilities like jobs or babies or mortgages and they want to have fun and they don't have as much health problems to prevent them drinking. So they drink more than say your average group of 40-50 year olds. This is not to say that when the 40-50 years old were younger they wouldn't have drank the same ammount if they had the money, didn't have to emigrate.
Also there is a massive chunk of the population between 21-30 (check out census figures). So as this group age the drinking will prob drop as there is just not the same amount of young people growing up at the present time.

Slutmonkey57b

melekalikimaka wrote:

exactly. if i agree to meet with friends in the evening there are very few options
a. go drinking
b. cinema - fooking mad amount of money especially with the internet
c. go to one of our houses and watch said movie for free ( a few have nice home cinema set ups), but thats pending on house not being occupied.
d. a gig, tho drinking is also involved in that
e. comedy club, as above

no cafes open late here. i personally drink a fair bit, i find if i dont drink for 4 days, on the fifth day when i drink i get hammered rather quickly, its quite bad when it reaches that point, but until i awake in a police cell, nothing shall change

Bull**** on d & e above. The truth is that Irish people drag drinking into situations where it's not necessary at all. I hardy ever drink at a gig - how are you supposed to have a good time jumping up and down when you've got a pint in your hand?