Ireland's drinking culture

risteard7

With paddys day just around the corner the talk on tv and radio shows has started on Ireland's drinking culture. I think it is a myth that we drink a lot, we drink no more than the majority of Eu countries.

Five pubs have closed in my local town in the last 3 years and the others only open at 6pm or just Fri,sat,sun.On weekdays there is nobody in the pubs. Outside of Dublin the pub trade is dead.

So where's all this drinking going on? ? And I think the figure for people drinking at home is exaggerated.

FTA69

risteard7 wrote: »

With paddys day just around the corner the talk on tv and radio shows has started on Ireland's drinking culture. I think it is a myth that we drink a lot, we drink no more than the majority of Eu countries.

Five pubs have closed in my local town in the last 3 years and the others only open at 6pm or just Fri,sat,sun.On weekdays there is nobody in the pubs. Outside of Dublin the pub trade is dead.

So where's all this drinking going on? ? And I think the figure for people drinking at home is exaggerated.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_alcohol_consumption

We're actually some of the biggest p*ssheads in the world.

spank_inferno

Ireland also has an above average amount of tea-totalers.

More alcohol is consumed by a smaller % of population compared to most countries.

Riskymove

I think the issue is that Paddy's day represents the real perceived issues with irish drinking culture - binge drinking, drinking to excess, etc.

marc96

FTA69 wrote: »

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_alcohol_consumption

We're actually some of the biggest p*ssheads in the world.

Nothing compared to saffers drinking.i don't think the Irish drink much to be honest,not in my experience of been here 12+ years and taking some irish mates to SA on holiday they can't keep up.def a myth

Karl Stein

We should be ashamed of ourselves.... 13 countries ahead of us.

Sir Arthur Daley

Charles Rocher wrote: »

We should be ashamed of ourselves.... 13 countries ahead of us.

They have the population over us.

Riskymove

Charles Rocher wrote: »

We should be ashamed of ourselves.... 13 countries ahead of us.

lot more vodka!! thus the amount of pure alcohol is higher

Riskymove

WikiHow wrote: »

They have the population over us.

it's per capita so that doesn't matter

drumswan

WikiHow wrote: »

They have the population over us.

Figures are per capita.

These neo-prohibitionists really get on my tits.

FTA69

marc96 wrote: »

Nothing compared to saffers drinking.i don't think the Irish drink much to be honest,not in my experience of been here 12+ years and taking some irish mates to SA on holiday they can't keep up.def a myth

We drink almost twice as much alcohol in a year as they do in South Africa. There are very few people who drink as much as we do, if you brought a load of Italians out for a night and expected them to drink 12 pints of Guinness they'd be horrified. Drunkeness is an acceptable scenario in Ireland where it isn't in most other countries.

theteal

I have to laugh at Andorra's place on that list, the place is only populated by people on holiday to ski and then get langered in a hot-tub!

jester77

Riskymove wrote: »

it's per capita so that doesn't matter

We need to drop the legal age to 15

The Backwards Man

If you sort it by recorded levels it puts us 4th.

I wonder do the experts factor in the cross border element also.

Holsten

risteard7 wrote: »

With paddys day just around the corner the talk on tv and radio shows has started on Ireland's drinking culture. I think it is a myth that we drink a lot, we drink no more than the majority of Eu countries.

Five pubs have closed in my local town in the last 3 years and the others only open at 6pm or just Fri,sat,sun.On weekdays there is nobody in the pubs. Outside of Dublin the pub trade is dead.

So where's all this drinking going on? ? And I think the figure for people drinking at home is exaggerated.

It's going on in homes all over the country 24/7. It really is not exaggerated. Have a walk around Dublin on a Friday/Saturday night and you'll see thousands of people all boozing it up like mad. I'd guess that at least over half would have been drinking before even setting foot in a pub or club.

We are a nation of piss heads, there is no escaping that.

munchkin_utd

Carnival is on at the moment in Cologne (and all that area like Dusseldorf/ Dortmund etc) and thats like a 5 day long open air paddies day, even with a massive parade yesterday. Half a million on the batter yesterday for that parade.
And rumours have it that theres plenty of alcohol fueled romantic action too, ahem.

So its not just in Ireland that folks go a little mental now and again.

marc96

FTA69 wrote: »

We drink almost twice as much alcohol in a year as they do in South Africa. There are very few people who drink as much as we do, if you brought a load of Italians out for a night and expected them to drink 12 pints of Guinness they'd be horrified. Drunkeness is an acceptable scenario in Ireland where it isn't in most other countries.

Haha if you say so pal,I gues if wiki says it then it must be true.also more than half the country drinks cider......that's classed as a woman's drink:)

SEPT 23 1989

We really need to be aiming for that No 1 position if we are serious about our drinking

Alf Veedersane

FTA69 wrote: »

if you brought a load of Italians out for a night and expected them to drink 12 pints of Guinness they'd be horrified.

So would I.

The state the jacks would be in the next day!

marc96

The difference in Ireland to say SA is that Irish guys tend to go out at only start drinking at say 9pm and try and drink as much as possible in those few hours before everything shuts,back in sa u drink thru out the day whilst braaing or watching a game and only stop late into the night.im not saying its good or bad all I'm saying is Irish don't drink as much as they think they do.

Sir Arthur Daley

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

So would I?

The state the jacks would be in the next day!

And couple that with a kebeb takeaway and cheese curry chips

elefant

marc96 wrote: »

The difference in Ireland to say SA is that Irish guys tend to go out at only start drinking at say 9pm and try and drink as much as possible in those few hours before everything shuts,back in sa u drink thru out the day whilst braaing or watching a game and only stop late into the night.im not saying its good or bad all I'm saying is Irish don't drink as much as they think they do.

South Africans are clearly hardcore as f**k. We're convinced.

drumswan

South Africans probably drink to forget they are South Africans

Temptamperu

Drinking is for mugs sure your only renting it. dead money indeed.

FTA69

marc96 wrote: »

Haha if you say so pal,I gues if wiki says it then it must be true.also more than half the country drinks cider......that's classed as a woman's drink:)

http://www.samj.org.za/index.php/samj/article/view/6003/4278

9 litres a year of pure alcohol a year in South Africa.

http://alcoholireland.ie/facts/how-much-do-we-drink/

12 litres a year in Ireland, also with the highest population of teetotal people which means those who do drink are lashing into it.

Having worked in the pub trade in various roles I've seen people in utterly cruel states. It's pretty acceptable to be off your tits in Ireland where it isn't in other countries.

minidazzler

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

So would I.

The state the jacks would be in the next day!

Your body gets used to stout and you don't get black runny sh1ts as much once you do get used to it. You gotta power through.

11.68 litres a year of pure alcohol would be roughly 9 pints a week each.... I'm averaging a bit over double that, as are most of the people I work with and my outside of work friends. I'm doing my bit, ARE YOU?

Alf Veedersane

minidazzler wrote: »

Your body gets used to stout and you don't get black runny sh1ts as much once you do get used to it. You gotta power through.

Pretty sure I won't be persevering with something I don't like until I get Stockholm Syndrome.

bodhrandude

spank_inferno wrote: »

Ireland also has an above average amount of tea-totalers.

More alcohol is consumed by a smaller % of population compared to most countries.

More like tea drinkers heh heh.

SEPT 23 1989

drumswan wrote: »

South Africans probably drink to forget they are South Africans

or the fear of being mauled by a lion

BillyMitchel

Surprised the Koreans aren't up higher. They drink a million times more than us and drink with breakfast, dinner and tea. The bastards nearly killed me.

Russian (not Irish Ukrainian) and their vodka is something else too. Went out with a Russian chick before and I made a tit of myself. Straight vodka my eye.

We aren't that bad when it's constant drinking but when it comes to binge we're a disaster.

elefant

BillyMitchel wrote: »

Surprised the Koreans aren't up higher. They drink a million times more than us and drink with breakfast, dinner and tea. The bastards nearly killed me.

Russian (not Irish Ukrainian) and their vodka is something else too. Went out with a Russian chick before and I made a tit of myself. Straight vodka my eye.

We aren't that bad when it's constant drinking but when it comes to binge we're a disaster.

That wiki list does say that the South Koreans drink an average of 10 litres of spirits a year per capita though! :eek: :eek:

marc96

No need to be a cheeky Cnut.all I said was Ireland isn't all it's made out to be in regards to its drinking.the only place I can compare to is sa as that's where I lived for awhile and that's where me and a few Irish mates travel to a lot.but then again u do like to think u the best at everything,the salt if the earth ****e.

BillyMitchel

elefant wrote: »

That wiki list does say that the South Koreans drink an average of 10 litres of spirits a year aper capita though! :eek: :eek:

It's their national drink, Soju. Very rare to see any other spirit getting served in restaurants and certain bars. It's about 50cent a bottle. It's mental!

Men, women, children. They all drink it and they all love it.

Lucena

Yes, it’s sad to see pubs closing down, especially in rural areas. In my home village, the pub is only open in the evenings and on weekends. Apparently in the good old days, it was open all day, so you’d have the odd farmer dropping in for a quick pint after picking up a few bit and bobs from the hardware shop. I remember being in there a few times myself as a kid, playing pool during the day when it was quiet.

Nowadays there are fewer farmers, more people working in town so less custom.

I’d hate to see Ireland turn into somewhere like Denmark where there don’t seem to be any pubs outside of large urban centres. I think it’s important to maintain places where people can meet up spontaneously, can bump into people we hadn’t planned to meet and go meet friends who aren’t necessarily dinner-party material.

Beyond the issue of our drinking culture, I think all societies need a 'Third Place'.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_place

BMJD

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsC06rOYeDg

FTA69

marc96 wrote: »

No need to be a cheeky Cnut.all I said was Ireland isn't all it's made out to be in regards to its drinking.the only place I can compare to is sa as that's where I lived for awhile and that's where me and a few Irish mates travel to a lot.but then again u do like to think u the best at everything,the salt if the earth ****e.

Are you on the sauce yourself?

Muise...

"Paddy's Day" implies such over-familiarity that getting langoured and lurching into each others' faces and festooning the streets with green vomit is inevitable.

bangkok

I was in Sydney 1 year for paddys day.... it was just an excuse for all the irish to go on a 3 day bender!!!

runawaybishop

marc96 wrote: »

No need to be a cheeky Cnut.all I said was Ireland isn't all it's made out to be in regards to its drinking.the only place I can compare to is sa as that's where I lived for awhile and that's where me and a few Irish mates travel to a lot.but then again u do like to think u the best at everything,the salt if the earth ****e.

I am sure the scientific data you and your mates gathered is very compelling.

jane82

What really gets me is people who go to foreign places and make about 5 friends there then spend their time yammering on about how the whole of this country views drink.
You are profiling the whole nation on 5 lads you hung out with from an abseiling club then coming back here and profiling the whole nation on what you see on paddys day in the town centre.
You go to your foreign friends house and see them with their respectable faces on remember that.
I seen here somebody saying if you asked a group of Italians to drink 12 pints of guinness theyd balk at it. Ive been about the train stations in Rome and it has plenty of drunks and junkies I never came back claiming as a nation the Italians love craic and vodka and tricking tourists into over prieced taxi journeys.
Everywhere has its mix if you made friends in the local Italian pub instead of the kite surfing club your views on the nation would be quite different.

bangkok

I think its just the whole culture of drinking in Ireland.... Ireland gets to a world cup or European cup...we get hammered drunk

18th birthday...drunk

21st..drunk

30th drunk

wedding..drunk

funeral..drunk

christening...drunk

day off work...drunk

more drink...yayyyyyyyy

WilyCoyote

spank_inferno wrote: »

Ireland also has an above average amount of tea-totalers.

More alcohol is consumed by a smaller % of population compared to most countries.

Lyons or Barry's?

BillyMitchel

WilyCoyote wrote: »

Lyons or Barry's?

In a house with tea from Aldi the other day, admittedly I was quite suspicious but it's not actually too bad.

FTA69

FTA69 wrote: »

We drink almost twice as much alcohol in a year as they do in South Africa. There are very few people who drink as much as we do, if you brought a load of Italians out for a night and expected them to drink 12 pints of Guinness they'd be horrified. Drunkeness is an acceptable scenario in Ireland where it isn't in most other countries.

Not the Italians I know, I drink regularly with them and they drink just as much as the Irish lads do, including up to and exceeding 12 pints on occasion.

goose2005

FTA69 wrote: »

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_alcohol_consumption

We're actually some of the biggest p*ssheads in the world.

Ireland drink much less spirits tho, beers are far less harmful. It's scienc.e

yeahimhere

minidazzler wrote: »

Your body gets used to stout and you don't get black runny sh1ts as much once you do get used to it. You gotta power through.

11.68 litres a year of pure alcohol would be roughly 9 pints a week each.... I'm averaging a bit over double that, as are most of the people I work with and my outside of work friends. I'm doing my bit, ARE YOU?

9 pints a week?! I'd be half of that if even. So you're taking my share. Sorry for letting the side down

minidazzler

minidazzler wrote: »

11.68 litres a year of pure alcohol would be roughly 9 pints a week each.... I'm averaging a bit over double that, as are most of the people I work with and my outside of work friends. I'm doing my bit, ARE YOU?

I reckon race week and Christmas week alone would see me put away up on 3 litres of pure alcohol (roughly estimated)!

D1stant

FTA69 wrote: »

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_alcohol_consumption

We're actually some of the biggest p*ssheads in the world.

Half this data is 10 years old

Duckworth_Luas

marc96 wrote: »

back in sa u drink thru out the day whilst braaing

WTF?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gROO7xSTxfY

jamesbere

I gave up drinking nearly 2 year's ago and I'm thankful I did. It was destroying me and I had serious problem but I wouldn't admit that I had a problem.

Personally I think this country has a serious problem culture with drink, every social event from christening to funeral is centred around drinking. I know not everyone has a drink problem and people are very responsible but I've noticed that more and more are drinking at home with alcohol been cheaper in off licenses.

Our attitude is that "shur other countries are worse" that doesn't make it any better, why does this debate only crop up around paddys day they're plenty of other days in the year that people can go on the piss

WilyCoyote

Czech republic
Palau
Seychelles
We Ourselves

4th in the beer drinking stakes. Anyone want to argue? C'mon outside!

Anyway, look at the longevity chart ........ we're doing quite well. Cheers!