ireland dying pub culture

jprender · 29-05-2008 07:48AM

Xavi6 wrote: »

if you try to have any sort of conversation you'll be told to shut the fuck up by Anto and Jonner behind you.

lol, Anto and Jonner are at home drinking their 6 cans for 7euro

They also dont go Bowling.
Dont go for coffee
Probably wont be at the theatre
How about a nice restaurant
An exhibition
A game of golf
A local rugby match
A home BBQ
A game of poker

I am not necessarily talking about a game of footie with 45k fans at it.

Let me put it this way, if the pubs were all closed tomorrow, how would you go about meeting people. I am sure that you wouldn't just stay at home. It just takes a bit of thought and effort, the pub is the easy answer because its just what people do.

Thats why the pub culture exists. It's just what generations have always done and it takes little effort.

Xavi6 · 29-05-2008 07:55AM

jprender wrote: »

They also dont go Bowling.

Not everyone can bowl/wants to bowl. Everyone however likes sitting around chatting.

jprender wrote: »

Dont go for coffee

Very few late night cafes that would be the equivalent of a pub

jprender wrote: »

Probably wont be at the theatre

Conversation anyo......sssssshhhhhhh!!!!!

jprender wrote: »

How about a nice restaurant

Meh

jprender wrote: »

An exhibition

Zzzzzzzzzz

jprender wrote: »

Let me put it this way, if the pubs were all closed tomorrow, how would you go about meeting people.

Da internetz ov course. ASL?

jprender wrote: »

Thats why the pub culture exists. It's just what generations have always done and it takes little effort.

Sorry but none of the above cater for the the 'pub culture' atmosphere. I'm talking somewhere that has everything a pub has, except drink. It doesn't exist.

jprender · 29-05-2008 08:02AM

Well for sure if it is the Pub Culture Atmosphere that you crave, the only place you will find that is of course in a pub.

But come on, there is more to life.

Xavi6 · 29-05-2008 08:06AM

jprender wrote: »

Well for sure if it is the Pub Culture Atmosphere that you crave, the only place you will find that is of course in a pub.

But come on, there is more to life.

Don't get me wrong, I agree with you. However for a lot of people there isn't much more to life which is why it won't die out. They have their routine and love it.

jprender · 29-05-2008 08:23AM

Xavi6 wrote: »

They have their routine and love it.

If it aint broke dont fix it I suppose.

I agree that the pub culture will never die either.
But, hypothetically, if it did, ppl wud find summit else to do

Xavi6 · 29-05-2008 08:28AM

jprender wrote: »

If it aint broke dont fix it I suppose.

I agree that the pub culture will never die either.
But, hypothetically, if it did, ppl wud find summit else to do

Bring in prohibition. Then we can bootleg our own booze and distribute it via the local bowling alley, all the while avoiding Rex Banner.

jprender · 29-05-2008 08:32AM

Xavi6 wrote: »

Bring in prohibition. Then we can bootleg our own booze and distribute it via the local bowling alley, all the while avoiding Rex Banner.

now your talkin.

The Irish love their drink and there is no gettin round it.

The pub culture or drink culture to be more precise is here to stay. If pubs stopped serving drink and the bowling alleys had beer on tap, I know where you would find most ppl.

Padraig Mor · 29-05-2008 08:38AM

i_love_toast wrote: »

thats exactly what im saying.the governemt tried to put big tax on drink to stop people going to pubs

Did they? AFAIK they're been very few increases in alcohol excise duty in recent years. If anything, the current govt just bends over to the Vintner's Federation - witness the cafe bar debacle. There is only one main reason people aren't going to the pub as much. It's not the smoking ban. It's not breath testing. It's ****ing publicans charging ridiculous prices. It's sure as hell why I rarely go....

jprender · 29-05-2008 08:43AM

Padraig Mor wrote: »

Did they? AFAIK they're been very few increases in alcohol excise duty in recent years. If anything, the current govt just bends over to the Vintner's Federation - witness the cafe bar debacle. There is only one main reason people aren't going to the pub as much. It's not the smoking ban. It's not breath testing. It's ****ing publicans charging ridiculous prices.

Well said Big Paddy

Wook · 29-05-2008 08:54AM

Ikky Poo2 wrote: »

Good riddance to it. Poeple might actaully have to think for a change!!

I'm not against drinking, but pub "culture" (or rather the complete lack of everything esle culture) is conformist, boring and he one thing standing between us and becoming a half-decent modern European capital.

Thank you.

mise_me_fein · 29-05-2008 09:24AM

There´s not much else to do other than have a few pints and have a bit of banter on the weekend.

The Weather can be rough and even if it´s good you´d always go for a few in the evening.

As far as I can see the culture of having the craic is alive and kicking.

jprender · 29-05-2008 09:27AM

mise_me_fein wrote: »

There´s not much else to do other than have a few pints and have a bit of banter on the weekend.

The Weather can be rough and even if it´s good you´d always go for a few in the evening.

Thats the routine some people love alright.

Sherifu · 29-05-2008 09:39AM

i_love_toast wrote: »

just thinking today what ever happened to irelands pub culture?

No great loss.

Princess Consuela Bananahammock · 29-05-2008 09:46AM

dsmythy wrote: »

People have that choice already. They choose not to take it. We live for the pub unlike other countries. You want us to be more like continental Europeans and not live for the pub. Sounds like you want us to conform to them. Obviously that's conforming on a larger European scale rather than changing one countries habits. Still the same premise to me.

So what you're satying is non-conformists go to the pub out of habit, and conformists do indivual different things in order to inject a bit of cariety into their lives? You sure you understand the concept? You obviously don't know continentlas very well!! Far more individuality and character than just goign to the pub.

So what is 'not' conforming'? Everyone here goes to the pub out of habit, which is pretty much 'conformed' behaveiour to me. Conteinentals think first, have ideas and then go and and do somethign different every now and again.

29-05-2008 09:49AM

I was discussing this the other day while driving down to Shannon. We went through a load of towns between 1-5pm & none of the pubs were open. Back as close as 5 years ago this wouldnt be the case and you'd have people in there from as early as 11 in the morning. It comes down to alot of things I think. The smoking ban, much stricter enforcement on drink driving(rightly so) & as RB pointed out , the rip of publicans themselves! Going from the mid nineties backwards the people you see on the street binging with cans in Dublin & other towns/cities would be mostly in the pub because they could afford it!

Even though the dying of this culture is somehow sad it is for the good of the country in the long run.

Heres a quick symbol that this culture has brought us http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i84/Kag1888/LOL-1.jpg

beerbaron · 29-05-2008 10:06AM

Xavi6 wrote: »

Bring in prohibition. Then we can bootleg our own booze and distribute it via the local bowling alley, all the while avoiding Rex Banner.

Why didn't I think of that !

S.I.R · 29-05-2008 10:16AM

i think a lowwering in tax for pubs who charge less would be a big incenttif... back to the days of the 2 quid pint !! :pac:

ivan087 · 29-05-2008 10:32AM

caoibhin wrote: »

I really f*cking hate those c*nts who wreak a good house party by bringing out a guitar.

oh man, you are so right! the guitar comes out, the conversation drops and you have to listen to the best of damian dempsey for half an hour.

Degsy · 29-05-2008 10:35AM

**** the pubs.Trying to charge 6 quid for a pint in broad daylight(after negotiating your way past sullen foreign doormen),standing at a bar for ten minutes to be served by a sullen foreign barman,being shortchanged,no food in pubs,nowhere to sit,****ing football blaring whether anybody's watching it or not,being panhandled in the jacks by a sullen foreign bloke who wants you to pay him for using toilet roll.

meditraitor · 29-05-2008 10:39AM

Padraig Mor wrote: »

Did they? AFAIK they're been very few increases in alcohol excise duty in recent years. If anything, the current govt just bends over to the Vintner's Federation - witness the cafe bar debacle. There is only one main reason people aren't going to the pub as much. It's not the smoking ban. It's not breath testing. It's ****ing publicans charging ridiculous prices. It's sure as hell why I rarely go....

The government still take over 30% of the money you give the publican for a Pint of plain and even more on spirits.....
for argument sake if a pint is 4 yoyos at the counter then the government tax you pay is minimum

€1.20 per pint fukcing tax to the greedy bastards. let them tax the fucpping builders/multiply house owners/banks/supermarkets some more but leave our pints alone

So your suggesting they should get a bigger slice of my money is rediculous

stovelid · 29-05-2008 10:50AM

ivan087 wrote: »

oh man, you are so right! the guitar comes out, the conversation drops and you have to listen to the best of damian dempsey for half an hour.

This does my head in, like pub singers who demand an audience.

I always just say I'm trying to have a conversation here or I didn't pay in to hear you.

Also on topic: Not all pubs charge 6 quid a drink, have filthy jacks and are packed. This is more to do with the kind of pubs you go to, or the nights you go to them on.

Padraig Mor · 29-05-2008 11:10AM

meditraitor wrote: »

So your suggesting they should get a bigger slice of my money is rediculous

I haven't suggested any such thing. Try reading with both eyes next time.

meditraitor · 29-05-2008 11:14AM

Padraig Mor wrote: »

I haven't suggested any such thing. Try reading with both eyes next time.

I only have one eye,

the government took the other

Neamhshuntasach · 29-05-2008 11:53AM

The reason i stopped going to pubs as frequently as i used to is to do with the price of drink. These days it's 6 cans for less than a tenner and some vodka and out the door into town. A night out for less than 30 Euro. Drinking at home first has replaced the packed pubs around the 8pm mark. The local where i live only gets busy around 12:30 or so.

Degsy · 29-05-2008 11:56AM

stovelid wrote: »

This does my head in, like pub singers who demand an audience.

I always just say I'm trying to have a conversation here or I didn't pay in to hear you.

Also on topic: Not all pubs charge 6 quid a drink, have filthy jacks and are packed. This is more to do with the kind of pubs you go to, or the nights you go to them on.

Ha.Bunch of clowns started up on uileann pipes and banjos in Th Palace one night i was out with a bunch of work people,it was bad enough untill one of the tossers demands we stop our discussion because it was interfereing with his "playing".The whole lot of us turned on them,told them we didnt ask to hear thier music and they hadnt bought any drink and were taking up valuable space.They cut thier session a bit short and went elsewhere but i dont know who they thought they were,i wouldnt get away with bringing a stereo into a pub and blasting my crappy music everywhere.

gollyitsolly · 29-05-2008 12:32PM

Ha!:D The pub has no chance of surviving in Ireland if it is depending on the crowd above me here. Half of them hate music an the other half dont want to pay for their drink. If you are drinking beer that costs less than 8euro for 6 cans ,your stomach will rot! The pub has moved into sittingrooms where you can smoke and drink all day and night, and your kids can do the same:D.When drinking was only done in pubs you went out ,met friends, and came home. Since it has been"deregulated" its like a free for all. All limits have gone. People are drinking and smoking more than ever. Aw sure its all for the good of the european union and we,ll all be one big happy state soon(sic):rolleyes:

Degsy · 29-05-2008 12:38PM

gollyitsolly wrote: »

Ha!:D The pub has no chance of surviving in Ireland if it is depending on the crowd above me here. Half of them hate music an the other half dont want to pay for their drink. If you are drinking beer that costs less than 8euro for 6 cans ,your stomach will rot! The pub has moved into sittingrooms where you can smoke and drink all day and night, and your kids can do the same:D.When drinking was only done in pubs you went out ,met friends, and came home. Since it has been"deregulated" its like a free for all. All limits have gone. People are drinking and smoking more than ever. Aw sure its all for the good of the european union and we,ll all be one big happy state soon(sic):rolleyes:

Booze is a commodity like any other,bleeding barmen here behave like its the sacred host they're dishing out.I earned the right to consume as much booze as i like when i turned 18(or 21) and i dont see why we should have our trousers taken down every time we want to partake.You wont meet many friends in pubs these days anyhoo,they all live out in the burbs in thier over-mortaged gaffs and cant afford to drink in boozers.

gollyitsolly · 29-05-2008 12:40PM

Yesh, no wat hic your hic sayin hic bud hic;)

nomorebadtown · 29-05-2008 12:50PM

gollyitsolly wrote:

half dont want to pay for their drink. If you are drinking beer that costs less than 8euro for 6 cans ,your stomach will rot

People have no problem paying for their drink. They just object to being blantently over-charged. And do you think the beer served in pubs flows straight out crystal clear woodland springs? The most gut wrenchingly disgusing beers i've had have always come from a pub or club (over-priced, naturally) not from the bottles or cans i've had at home.

Pubs are too expensive, thats the truth of the matter. There is precious little innovation or effort on behalf of most publicans in ireland to draw customers back in by either lowering prices or coming up with ways to counter balance the shocking price they charge for drink.

The smoking ban and drink driving legislation are not the cause of the death of the Irish pub. Its the fact that people can enjoy alcohol in other settings without being completely screwed by publicans.

gollyitsolly wrote:

People are drinking and smoking more than ever

Nope.

MOH · 29-05-2008 12:53PM

1. Prices. If you can drink in a house for half what you're paying in the pub, more people are going to drink at home. Especially if money starts getting tight. Prices of non-alcoholic drinks are a joke - in most pubs it's cheaper to drink a pint of beer than a pint of Coke or Fanta, which to me is one contributor to people getting hammered - I'll never drink a soft drink in a pub because you're being fleeced even more than on alcohol.

2. In rural areas, clampdowns on drink driving are definitely hitting pubs. Less people are willing to risk driving home after a feed of pints, there's no local transport, and not everyone can afford taxis, even if you can get them.

3. Lack of 'cafe-bars'. There's loads of European countries you can go to and have a good night in a cafe bar, people who want to drink can, people who don't can drink tea, coffee, or soft drinks without getting ripped off, can generally get decent food. Often as busy and good craic as 'pubs' but just a less intense 'must-drink-alcohol-only' atmosphere. Of course, the government here decided we can't be trusted with such things as we'd all run riot. Despite the fact I've seen large groups of Irish drinking in cafe-bars abroad who didn't instantly turn into slavering alcoholic monsters laying waste to the area around them.

ireland dying pub culture

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