# Irish Drinking Question **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 28, 2008, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-drinking-question/469954 "2008-10-28T16:08:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2008, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-drinking-question/469954/41 "2008-10-29T12:54:00Z")
> [@An\_Gadai](#): > > I don’t know specifically why but it just isn’t that popular here. Neither is Colleen (Cailin - girl in Irish) for that matter. I suppose the name America wouldn’t be that common in America. Why do you hate America? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Ponster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponster/32/17081_2.png) [@Ponster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponster)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2008, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-drinking-question/469954/42 "2008-10-29T13:17:49Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > Why do you hate America? 😃 LMAO As said, naming a chile after the country one lives in isn’t something that happens in Ireland at least. ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2008, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-drinking-question/469954/43 "2008-10-29T13:51:57Z")
If it’s just not a common name, that’s one thing. But **KnitWit** ’s post said “no respectable couple” would do it, so I was wondering if the name Erin had some negative association. Like it was a slang term for a gutter slut, or something. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2008, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-drinking-question/469954/44 "2008-10-29T14:14:17Z")
> [@Ponster](#): > > naming a chile after the country I’m trying to work out if that was deliberate ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2008, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-drinking-question/469954/45 "2008-10-29T14:16:58Z")
> [@KnitWit](#): > > My question, to be specific, is “what’s with the Irish and alcohol?” Why do we have the stereotype that the Irish drink more and get drunk more often than other cultures? First of all, is it even true? I don’t know how common this is, but I worked with an Irishman a few years ago. He was in his early 20’s, more or less fresh off the boat, and at least once confirmed the “heavy-drinking Irishman” stereotype. We were talking about our weekend or something, and he made a comment along the lines of “I got totally shitfaced. Well, I **am** Irish, you know.” Joe ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2008, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-drinking-question/469954/46 "2008-10-29T14:29:49Z")
> [@corkboard](#): > > If it’s just not a common name, that’s one thing. But **KnitWit** ’s post said “no respectable couple” would do it, so I was wondering if the name Erin had some negative association. Like it was a slang term for a gutter slut, or something. No negative connotation that I know of. Maybe it sounds trailertrashy to Knitwit? I dunno. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2008, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-drinking-question/469954/47 "2008-10-29T14:58:49Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > That probably skews data for, say, the Czech Republic too then. There’s locations where the locals may drink a lot but it’s relatively light stuff (beer, wine) and it’s the foreigners who crank up the heavy stuff. It looks to me like they address that later on in the report, under “unrecorded alcohol consumption,” where Luxembourg gets a “-1.0” to account for visitors and tourists," while Czech Republic gets “+1.0” for the unrecorded stuff they drink. The Czech Republic is, indeed, number one in consumption of beer overall (just ahead of Ireland), but they make it to the top twenty of spirit consumption, too, and I don’t think it’s just because of the tourists (in my experience, at least, the Czechs I’ve known were not shy of the hard stuff.) ---
**Author:** ![KnitWit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f0a364/32.png) [@KnitWit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KnitWit)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2008, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-drinking-question/469954/48 "2008-10-29T15:12:25Z")
> [@wheresgeorge04](#): > > I don’t know how common this is, but I worked with an Irishman a few years ago. He was in his early 20’s, more or less fresh off the boat, and at least once confirmed the “heavy-drinking Irishman” stereotype. We were talking about our weekend or something, and he made a comment along the lines of “I got totally shitfaced. Well, I **am** Irish, you know.” > > Joe In the Boston area, at least, there seems to be an enormous phenomenon of young Irish coming to the States basically for the soul purpose of partying. They come here, get laborer’s jobs, and do nothing else but drink like crazy. There’s even a sort of joke about employers paying the Irish on Monday to ensure that they show up for work after Sunday’s binge. I find this sort of odd in that it’s a long way to travel and a lot of hassle just to drink crappy beer in a different country. Why not stay home and get smashed? I didn’t mean anything negative about people who name their daughers Erin. I just know it’s more or less unheard of in Ireland and more or less common among people of Irish heritage in America. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2008, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-drinking-question/469954/49 "2008-10-29T15:20:05Z")
> [@KnitWit](#): > > In the Boston area, at least, there seems to be an enormous phenomenon of young Irish coming to the States basically for the soul purpose of partying. They come here, get laborer’s jobs, and do nothing else but drink like crazy. There’s even a sort of joke about employers paying the Irish on Monday to ensure that they show up for work after Sunday’s binge. > > I find this sort of odd in that it’s a long way to travel and a lot of hassle just to drink crappy beer in a different country. Why not stay home and get smashed? > > I didn’t mean anything negative about people who name their daughers Erin. I just know it’s more or less unheard of in Ireland and more or less common among people of Irish heritage in America. Is this college-age kids? The J1 (ie visiting the US for 3 months during college summer breaks) is considered a rite of passage for young Irish people. They spend a summer in MA, CA, Chicago or NYC or wherever, working in resorts, getting paid very little and partying hardy. ---
**Author:** ![FrWindyShephardHenderson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a9a28c/32.png) [@FrWindyShephardHenderson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FrWindyShephardHenderson)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2008, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-drinking-question/469954/50 "2008-10-29T15:23:36Z")
> [@KnitWit](#): > > In the Boston area, at least, there seems to be an enormous phenomenon of young Irish coming to the States basically for the soul purpose of partying. They come here, get laborer’s jobs, and do nothing else but drink like crazy. There’s even a sort of joke about employers paying the Irish on Monday to ensure that they show up for work after Sunday’s binge. > > I find this sort of odd in that it’s a long way to travel and a lot of hassle just to drink crappy beer in a different country. Why not stay home and get smashed? > > I didn’t mean anything negative about people who name their daughers Erin. I just know it’s more or less unheard of in Ireland and more or less common among people of Irish heritage in America. Yeah I did this for a summer in Delaware. To be honest its more of a right of passage than anything else. Especially since is very common for Irish students to live at home during college, this might be the first time theyve been out of the parents house for a while. And America is a great country to visit so its better than spending a summer doing nothing in Ireland. On the Erin point, the only girl I’ve heard of called that over here is the countrys only adult film star. Wonders of the internet eh. ---
**Author:** ![irishgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@irishgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/irishgirl)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2008, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-drinking-question/469954/51 "2008-10-29T17:48:27Z")
**Knitwit** at least your husband drinks- many working class Northern Irish women have a Valium dependency dating back to the 1970s when they got “something for their nerves” after some neighbourhood atrocity. The men went to the pub and got whisky, the women went to the GP and got Benzodiazepines. Belfast has a pretty high rate of functioning BDZ addicts. I think it’s cultural rather than genetic. We’re sad-we drink We’re happy-we drink Births-drink Deaths-drink Get married-drink Get divorced-drink Christenings-drink Communions-drink Payday-drink Just made redundant-drink New house-drink TGIF-drink OFIM\*-drink Irish people believe that if you have a functioning marriage and/or friendships, pay your bills and keep your job you don’t have a drinking problem. So what if you drink 60 units a week, you’re fine. I have patients who honestly drink that much not because they have to, but because they want to. Other than decreasing heartburn and hangovers, these people have no motivation to cut down or stop- certainly their friends and family are unlikely to stage an intervention until they turn up at work drunk. Drink driving is seen as the result of stupidity and bad choices rather than a sign of a drink problem. AA is not so successful here. Anectdote. When I was a second year med student some North Americans joined the programme. On Wednesdays we’d finish anatomy at 5pm and the first lecture on a Thursday was at 10am. The pub is directly opposite the anatomy lab. To the Irish student it was self-evident that this particular combination meant every Wednesday would equal a few jars in the pub, then dinner or a club, and turning up hungover or late to Thursday’s first lecture, if at all. The first few weeks the North Americans gave us disapproving looks. Then it was pointed comments about “having a problem” and AA literature being left in the locker rooms. By about 6 weeks into term, they were joining us. - Oh fuck, it’s Monday ---
**Author:** ![SeanArenas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeanArenas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeanArenas)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2008, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-drinking-question/469954/52 "2008-10-29T18:39:37Z")
> [@irishgirl](#): > > Anectdote. > When I was a second year med student some North Americans joined the programme. On Wednesdays we’d finish anatomy at 5pm and the first lecture on a Thursday was at 10am. The pub is directly opposite the anatomy lab. To the Irish student it was self-evident that this particular combination meant every Wednesday would equal a few jars in the pub, then dinner or a club, and turning up hungover or late to Thursday’s first lecture, if at all. > > The first few weeks the North Americans gave us disapproving looks. Then it was pointed comments about “having a problem” and AA literature being left in the locker rooms. By about 6 weeks into term, they were joining us. Strange. Most Americans I know would find it a novelty to go to Ireland and drink with them. I couldn’t imagine any of them making pointed comments or dropping AA literature to an Irishperson. ---
**Author:** ![KnitWit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f0a364/32.png) [@KnitWit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KnitWit)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2008, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-drinking-question/469954/53 "2008-10-29T19:44:11Z")
> [@An\_Gadai](#): > > Is this college-age kids? The J1 (ie visiting the US for 3 months during college summer breaks) is considered a rite of passage for young Irish people. They spend a summer in MA, CA, Chicago or NYC or wherever, working in resorts, getting paid very little and partying hardy. I’ve seen J1 kids around. I know this is common. But there are also unusually high numbers of 20-somethings who I wouldn’t exactly call “college material” or who are too old to be students but still young enough to have few responsibilities. They are laborers or tradesmen (masons, carpenters, plumbers, etc.) and the bars in certain areas of Boston are THRONGED with them, particularly right at 5:00. In the neighborhood I’ve just moved from in Boston if I were to go down to the local pub I would be a) the only American/person without a brogue, b) the only woman, and c) the only person who wasn’t in workboots with a tape measure on my hip. Everyone would turn and stare when they heard an American accent. It’s only anecdotal, no real research was harmed in the making of these comments. But those guys drink HARD and do so daily. ---
**Author:** ![KnitWit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f0a364/32.png) [@KnitWit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KnitWit)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2008, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-drinking-question/469954/54 "2008-10-29T19:53:45Z")
> [@SeanArenas](#): > > Strange. Most Americans I know would find it a novelty to go to Ireland and drink with them. I couldn’t imagine any of them making pointed comments or dropping AA literature to an Irishperson. It is my opinion that AA is a crock of crap anyway. It’s rude to be dropping religious propoganda on someone. Okay, this has nothing to do with my OP. I’ve hijacked my own thread. ---
**Author:** ![KnitWit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f0a364/32.png) [@KnitWit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KnitWit)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2008, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-drinking-question/469954/55 "2008-10-29T19:58:35Z")
> [@irishgirl](#): > > **Knitwit** at least your husband drinks- many working class Northern Irish women have a Valium dependency dating back to the 1970s when they got “something for their nerves” after some neighbourhood atrocity. The men went to the pub and got whisky, the women went to the GP and got Benzodiazepines. Belfast has a pretty high rate of functioning BDZ addicts. I’ve been prescribed benzos (clonopin) before for anxiety. I never had a problem with them, since I just didn’t find it FUN to take them. They made me functional when necessary (I’d say at max I took 2/week) and made me a little sleepy and that was it. But it’s my understanding that withdrawal from them is really, really bad and that they’re very difficult to get off. It’s sad when stuff like this is overprescribed. Yes, Boston Irish have some of the same reasons for drinking. Weddings and christenings were massive drinking days, as were new births, deaths, Fridays, Sundays, Mondays (you need a “cure” after all), new jobs, getting fired, and so on as you said. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2008, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-drinking-question/469954/56 "2008-10-29T20:04:03Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > The same guy got us thrown out of a works do for What? > [@](#): > > stealing food out of the kitchen when under the influence. What kitchen? ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2008, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-drinking-question/469954/57 "2008-10-29T21:41:53Z")
The kitchen at the venue where the do took place. Is “works do”, meaning a party for the staff of a company, a Britishism? ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2008, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-drinking-question/469954/58 "2008-10-29T21:51:24Z")
It must be, because it’s not an Americanism. So, an “office party,” then? ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2008, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-drinking-question/469954/59 "2008-10-29T21:56:35Z")
Yeah maybe, except an office party could also take place in the office. A works do would be an evening event or perhaps an all day outing. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2008, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-drinking-question/469954/60 "2008-10-29T22:36:01Z")
> [@Usram](#): > > The kitchen at the venue where the do took place. Is “works do”, meaning a party for the staff of a company, a Britishism? Work(s) do makes sense to this Oirish person too. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-drinking-question/469954.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-drinking-question/469954.md?page=4)