COMMENT

IF ARTHUR’S Day achieved anything – other than providing a much-needed boost to the live music scene – it was that it generated plenty of debate about this country’s ongoing problem with alcohol.

Some of the reaction to Diageo’s nationwide event was way over the top. But there’s no getting around the fact that the Arthur’s Day concept is marketing genius, placing Guinness at the heart of Ireland’s live music scene.

And to a large extent it already is. Tourists to this country can’t get enough of our pub culture and the marriage between live music and alcohol had been consummated long before Diageo’s people came up with Arthur’s Day.

It wouldn’t be the first time that drink has been linked with music. The Dubliners famously received a radio ban for their hit song

‘Seven Drunken Nights’.

Christy Moore – who has now written a song denouncing Arthur’s Day – once wondered how your man could stay up on a surfboard after 14 pints of stout. In his popular hit

‘Lisdoonvarna’, seven creamy pints came out on a tray.

And who remembers those famous Guinness commercials featuring members of The Chieftains and Clannad?

They were different times, perhaps – certainly a more innocent, less politically correct era. Celebrity endorsement of alcohol products doesn’t seem to be as prevalent these days.

We all know too well the catastrophic fallout from excessive drinking in Ireland: the impact on family life; the scourge of drink-fuelled violence on our streets; and the dystopian scenes in our overcrowded A&E departments every weekend.

Alcohol abuse is as likely to occur in the privacy of a home as it is in a pub. In a bar, however, staff can – and should – use their discretion to refuse service. But no such safeguard exists for the stay-at-home drinker.

Before we seek to blame companies such as Diageo, we need to look at wider issues such as the minimum pricing of alcohol, particularly in service stations and supermarkets.

We need to improve awareness of the dangers of drinking through education initiatives.

We need to consider a ban on specific alcohol products that appeal to teenagers because they taste like soft drinks.

We need to segregate the drunks in our A&E departments from genuine emergencies – unless, of course, they have life-threatening injuries.

Maybe after we tackle all of these issues we can then ask if Arthur’s Day has a real or lasting impact on our collective drinking habits.