Culture & society: Alcoholism (JULY)

S

o you enjoy a few bottles of an evening....... every evening. What’s the problem?! Our Culture & society writer Emma Martin takes a look at modern day Ireland’s relationship with alcohol........

When I was a child, there was a particular ‘eau de parfum’ I really didn’t care for. It was a very strong bitter kind of smell and I couldn’t figure out why certain people wore it, it was horrible! As I was quick at noticing things but never drawing the right conclusions (I was amazed for years at how my dad and Santa Claus had the same handwriting), it was years later that I realised the unpleasant ‘perfume’ was indeed, stale alcohol. Most people would agree that somebody who smells of alcohol more often than not is an alcoholic, but is it always as clear-cut as this?

“Sure we’re Irish” we say in justification.....

When you’re walking to work in the morning and you meet somebody on Quay Street or at the Spanish Arch drinking their first can of the day, how do you feel towards them? Most likely you feel pity or even disgust; entirely negative feelings.  Fast forward to 16 hours or so later, it could be any day of the week; you’re walking home through Eyre Square. You see dozens of people falling around, shouting, fighting, shiftin’ even! How do you feel towards them? Humoured? Mildly annoyed? Maybe you’re envious because you’d like to be out too? Or, do you pity them? Are you disgusted by them? Unless you’re over a certain age or a local politician, it’s likely the most negative feeling you’ll have is mild annoyance.

What’s the difference? Think about it. Our society seems to follow the bizarre rule; it’s only alcoholism if you drink during the day or if you’re of a certain age. The physical and psychological damage caused by alcohol abuse is serious; day or night, at any age.

“Sure we’re Irish” we say in justification, thus keeping alive the tired old stereotype of the ’drunken Irish’. When I lived in Canada, I was met with so much presumption based on this stereotype– and it gets old, very quickly! A guy I knew (whose girlfriend loved to call me ‘potato’), jokingly said one day “be careful with her, she’s Irish, she might ‘bottle you.” Charming, absolutely charming.