Need to Study but Mother an Alcoholic

LegacyUser

Hello,

I am undertaking an intensive course (not held in a college so that rules out use of library) however my mother is an alcoholic and shouts down the house every single night. I will need to be able to study every night and this simply wont be possible at home (I cannot afford to move out)

Does anyone have any suggestions of places to study and work in Dublin City Centre? I don't want to sit in a café over a cup of coffee for hours as that seems unfair and I reckon most cafes will close by 9pm anyway? Unsure what to do

Shybride2016

dorofoco wrote: »

Hello,

I am undertaking an intensive course (not held in a college so that rules out use of library) however my mother is an alcoholic and shouts down the house every single night. I will need to be able to study every night and this simply wont be possible at home (I cannot afford to move out)

Does anyone have any suggestions of places to study and work in Dublin City Centre? I don't want to sit in a café over a cup of coffee for hours as that seems unfair and I reckon most cafes will close by 9pm anyway? Unsure what to do

Sorry to hear of your difficult home life. Could you look up the opening times of the library in the Ilac Centre? They might be open late some evenings? There's also a library near Pearse Street if I remember rightly.

What's putting you off going into a cafe? Is it the fact that you'd feel obliged to buy loads? Hotels might have wifi locally or bit buzz at least and they'll always have some area that's open late.

I did a course a few years ago and the only free time I had was a Friday morning so I used to sit in a local hotel for the peace and wifi access. I got to know a few of the staff and they were lovely, I never felt obliged to buy more than what I did when I first arrived.

Best of luck with the studies.

LegacyUser

Perhaps you could consider a library off of a college campus? I am not familiar with the libraries in Dublin but in my county we also have libraries that anyone can go to and there are study areas there. I don't know if these libraries stay open very late like college ones though. Another idea could be finding some sort of supervised study and seeing if there would be any way they would allow you to study there. I mean the ones that some schools have for LC and JC students. I know some grinds schools hold evening study. I know you would ahve to pay for it which could be pricey but maybe you could afford it all the same?

Something I personally did was use earplugs. My dad works in a factory and got me some. They block out all sound and you can get these ones in a lot of places. I will say that I prefer to study without earplugs but honestly if your mom is that noisy, they could be perfect for you.

Best of luck with everything. I know what is like to want to study and have other people ruin that.

5rtytry56

OP, you mention you're in Dublin City Centre?

Check out the following places with public Libraries where you can study in quiet:

• Rathmines Library - upstairs
• ILAC Centre Shopping Centre Public Library
• NAVAN Road Library (I might be wrong in what this is called)
• Phibsboro Library off the cross roads in Phibsboro (opposite Des Kelly carpets)

baby and crumble

Most public libraries and cafes will close by 9 or 10, which probably isn't much good to you. College libraries don't usually allow non-students or graduates in past their closing time which is around the same.

My advice would be to invest in a pair of noise cancelling earphones and listen to music. You'll probably be able to hear your Mam shouting through normal earphones, so you might need to spend a bit of money to get decent quality active noise-cancelling ones.

Is there no way you could confornt your Mam about her drinking? Maybe if she knew how much it was affecting you she might be forced to take it in hand? I've no experience of alcoholism though so apologies if that's a really stupid question.

Call me Al

This might sound daft but I'll say it anyway... would you get those ear mufflers some people use for eliminating noise?
You might be able to completely eliminate any noise she makes, once your home from the library, and study away peacefully.

bonyn

A quiet hotel bar or cafe.

Jay Pentatonic

I was in your exact position going through school and college, so I know exactly what it's like. It's incredibly stressful.

All the suggestions here have been great, and I recommend them all.

But for the times when studying outside of home isn't an option, I really encourage you to get some "noise cancelling" headphones (you can get a decent pair in Argos).
The pair I got were €80, it was really worth investing in them as I no longer heard doors slamming, people shouting etc. I found them really helpful. Spotify has loads of playlists especially for studying, and so does YouTube.

Don't feel bad studying in a café though, if you go early in the morning, studying with a coffee for an hour or two is fine. But even during busy hours, it's still fine. After all, you've bought your coffee, you're only using one chair and if anyone is annoyed about that then they can go f*ck themselves.

Take it day by day, you'll do well.

thegreatgonzo

You could try Accents cafe in Stephens St I think? I've only been there once but it seemed a very friendly easy going place and stays open till 11.

LegacyUser

Starbucks on Stephens Green is 24/7. Full of foreign students on laptops anytime i've been in there late. You won't even be noticed sitting there for hours.

JimmyCrackCorn

You should reach out to your college counselor to secure late access to building if possible.
Try internet cafe and see can you strike a deal if they are still about.

Study groups could be a winner for you as well, allot of foreign students with English as a second language do this.

Shadow1983

I don't know what you're studying or if this would help at all but there's a website called Robobraille.
You can email the website a passage of text and it sends it back to you in audio format so you can listen to it on the go.

thegreatgonzo

Shadow1983 wrote: »

I don't know what you're studying or if this would help at all but there's a website called Robobraille.
You can email the website a passage of text and it sends it back to you in audio format so you can listen to it on the go.

Sounds like a great idea. I wish I'd known about this before when I was doing a course