Ireland's drinking culture

MadYaker wrote: »

No matter what way you switch the data the French are barely behind us. In terms of perceived consumption (what most people think) id say the French would be miles behind us. Sneaky feckers, nobody thinks they are big drinkers but they are! Wine with lunch, aperitif before dinner, wine with dinner, desert wine or digestif after dinner. They're mad for it. Walk around a city or town at lunch time and you'll see people in suits drinking beer or wine with their food on their lunch break. Imagine if you did that in Ireland and your boss found out.

They just don't have the pub culture that we have here.

Nor the binge culture. Irish pubs - some student types excepted - are dead on Sundays, Mondays, Tuesdays with a pickup by Wednesday. Then it gets crazy. The French drink moderately all week, we binge at w/ends. It's not really old school alcoholism though as people don't need it everyday. Just binging.

Yeah, we drink a **** loads. I can't see how anyone could deny that fact. If the topic arises in my English classes here in Madrid, my students always comment on how shocked they were by our drinking while they were there. They can't really see the funny side to it at all; they were all fairly appalled and I'm sitting there like a numpty bashfully agreeing with them through gritted teeth. I always thought there were bigger drinkers than they were but they actually drink fcuk all here. Somebody very drunk is a very rare sight and they're almost guaranteed to be foreign (English, Irish or American) or an alcoholic.

Still though, I've had the best nights out of my life there (Ireland). I don't drink to the point of blacking out or falling over but I get drunk and I enjoy it. I don't do it often anymore because the hangovers are really awful for me but when I do, I go all out. You can say what you like but a night out in Ireland is The Biz.

jane82 wrote: »

Thats interesting I wonder do people on average live longer here or in the states? All that drinking must really push the figures what with it being so unhealthy. Im guessing it must be like a 20 year difference what with all the booze an all.

I'd say their lack of affordable healthcare for the majority and obesity is what kills them over there. I'm guessing their life expectancy is lower on average.

jane82 wrote: »

Well then who cares what they think of our drinking. Coming over here getting twinky withdrawels passing comments about our boozeing. Feck off and sort your healthcare out! Thats what Ill be tellin em.

That wasn't even a good crappy stereotype.

jane82 wrote: »

I think it was an above average middling stereotype myself.
Ye see people seem worried how americans or other countries view us. They come here and go to temple bar during a public holiday and say we drink too much. Every country has its problems. I dont go to el salvador and say " hey you guys join gangs too much".
Life expectancy is fairly good in Ireland maybe we arnt the horrible country some people round here think we are.

I think it's fairly common to go somewhere and make observations on said country, no?

jane82 wrote: »

Well then who cares what they think of our drinking. Coming over here getting twinky withdrawels passing comments about our boozeing. Feck off and sort your healthcare out! Thats what Ill be tellin em.

I don't think Legs or others indicated anything about caring what Americans think of our drinking or that we Irish are a horrible people.
The discussion is just around whether we, as a nation, drink a lot. I think we do and I'm not one for that self flagellating stuff. Just saying what I believe to be the case. Going out and getting absolutely wasted here is the norm for many at weekends and on student week-nights. Staggering, collapsing, puking, pissing against a wall, fighting - these are just seen as a laugh. The reason people don't see this as excessive is... exactly the point: this excess is the norm here. But that doesn't change the fact that it's excessive.
I've done it plenty myself btw (not the pissing against the wall or the fighting... that I know of).

And as for it being as bad in Britain... I don't think anyone said it wasn't, but this thread is about Ireland.

jane82 wrote: »

One eejit in 1000 pukes fights or pisses on a wall. Its not the norm its the ones you notice.

I'd say more 1 in 20 if anything...it's far more common than your estimation.

Talking about volumes isn't really that revealing. It's more important to think about how. In other places in the world food is an integral part of the drinking process. Once you learn that maybe eating while you drink is a more enjoyable experience you can prolong it and lose none of the fun.

It's ok to have a bit of food in there, drink a bit slower and stay out a good few more hours. Doesn't need to be a belly busting meal, just enough to keep you going. In Ireland the pace is relentless, food is looked down upon and you'd want to have a medical excuse to ask for some water. Normally at home I end up eating a load of bad food on the way home in the vain hope it'll fight off the inevitable hang over. Out foreign I tend not to get them as I eat more during rather than after, I drink slower (shock horror, sometimes I go a good half hour with an empty glass) and as a result I can go out at 10pm until 6am the next day without waking up in a hedge with half a kebab in my jacket pocket and a curry chip as a pillow...and no wallet, phone of keys.

ps....(edit) the bottom 1/3 of a pint is usually warm swill and gets tossed back with little to no enjoyment. Better to drink in smaller glasses when the beer stays fresh. Big wine glasses are designed to let the wine react with the air, not to be filled to the brim so you can swill it back like water.

Siena Round Rodent wrote: »

You aren't drinking the pint fast enough if the bottom 1/3 is getting warm . Small glasses are a waste of time, up would spend more time walking to and from the bar getting them as sitting down.

If it works for you...knock yourself out. I've tried every which way to enjoy a drink and I know that at 4am I'd rather be sober enough to think about getting another drink or a moving on to another bar than scurrying about looking for a taxi or a bag of chips.

Point being is that Dublin is a small manageable city, it would be a perfect place for eating and drinking all through the night if people could stretch it out a bit more, but your way it's not gonna happen.

Siena Round Rodent wrote: »

I have no problem stopping for 20 mins to grab a bit to eat, even more than once on a long session. Its a necessity if you start early in the day and want to see last orders. But actually eating away while drinking doesn't appeal to me. I find that in general its just makes you feel uncomfortable and to a certain extend the food takes away from the taste of the beer and the beer takes from the food.

If you are only going out at 8pm and finishing up around 3am then eating before and after is perfectly sufficient.

I could never combine food with alcohol. I always feel too full. That's why I hate weddings and Christmas parties.