COMMENT: There’s more to our culture than drink

I READ last week that our ‘archaic’ law restricting the sale of booze on Good Friday and Christmas Day dates back as far as 1927. Incredibly, the Intoxicating Liquor Act once covered St Patrick’s Day – our national day of drinking – but this was eventually lifted in 1960 due to fears that it was having a detrimental effect on tourism.

The same spurious argument is now being trotted out by the various vested interests in the licensed trade, with even the 1916 centenary celebrations being cited as a reason to open our pubs on Good Friday. After all, isn’t this the type of freedom our heroes of the Easter Rising fought for?

Our poor tourists, seemingly, are running around the streets on Good Friday like thirsty, headless chickens, panic-stricken when they realise they can’t have a pint. What the hell did they come here for in the first place? It certainly wasn’t for the Irish weather.

Then there’s the matter of the Republic of Ireland’s friendly against Switzerland on Good Friday. The poor Swiss will have to wait till they get home to have an overpriced pint. The reputational damage to Irish soccer will be incalculable. 

We are being asked to believe that, somehow, our country is not as appealing to our foreign visitors when alcohol is taken out of the equation. Maybe if our tourists are sober they’ll notice all the litter and vomit on the streets of Temple Bar; perhaps we won’t be as good looking or witty to them anymore. They might even have to rely on our museums, theatres and historic buildings to get a sense of Irish culture. God forbid!

Of course, if our tourists are creative, they will be able to circumvent the Good Friday restrictions by having a drink with a meal in their hotel. They might take in a show, where they’ll be able to enjoy a more relaxed regime in a theatre bar, or even go to a dog track where exemptions are in place. They could even while away the long hours of the dry spell by taking a trip by air, sea or rail. They can have a beer in the train station if they fancy a day trip to Limerick Junction.

Alternatively, they could always try to talk their way into one of the many boozathons taking place in homes across the country. As a nation, we are very welcoming to strangers – as long as they bring a bottle. 

A former colleague of mine used to host an annual ‘wine and red meat’ get-together every Good Friday, just to illustrate how ludicrous the pub ban is. On Holy Thursday he would join the oppressed masses queuing outside his local off-licence, before stopping off at a pub on his way home to get a few ‘safety’ pints into him. 

Personally, the two days of the year when I stay away from a pub are Christmas Eve and Holy Thursday. Tourists must marvel at the scramble for the bar when last orders are called on these nights. It’s like the end of the world, only worse.

It wouldn’t surprise me if the Government decided to reverse the Good Friday ban as a pre-election concession to the biggest vested interest of them all – the Irish drinker.

t.mccullagh@dublinpeople.com