To tackle negative stereotypes of the Irish people, EPIC The Irish Immigration Museum launched the campaign “This is Not Us” in 2022. Data taken from Google’s Search Autocomplete is used to create the imaginary CGI character Paddy McFlaherty, often spotted on Dublin buses, who embodies the misconceptions of the Irish people. The most suggested term when one searches for attributes relating to the Irish was, according to EPIC — drinking.
The result was certainly foreseeable, given the alcohol exports constitute an indispensable share of the Irish economy, yet its implications extend far beyond trade and production. From James Joyce to Brendan Behan, it appears as though Irish literary talents have historically taken booze for muse, which is reflected by the ubiquity of themes of alcoholism in Irish literature. Drinking culture in Ireland has always been inseparable from its people, for instance, beer was consumed in large quantities by 16th century Irish workers for its high caloric value as uncovered by Dr Susan Flavin. Alcohol has accompanied the Irish people weathering through the storms for many seasons.
Not only did drinking habits continue to flourish in Irish society, its impacts encompass university landscapes as well. Alcoholism at Trinity is nothing new, in fact, one may argue that it is deeply entrenched in college life. In the 1920s when Samuel Beckett attended Trinity, the renowned Irish author is documented to have become a compulsive drinker due to psychological troubles. Almost a century later, in a peculiar 2011 BBC news article titled “Jessie J shocked by drinking at Trinity College ball,” the pop singer was reportedly concerned by the plastered students down stage during her show. The national stereotype of the drinking Irishmen may also be applicable to Trinity students in this regard as drinking is so socially normalised by our culture. However, it must be noted that the issue of alcoholism has always existed within the realms of higher education, evident by the archaic drinking societies at institutions such as Oxbridge. Many of such societies are founded on the premise of elitism, spewing anecdotes of debauchery and indecency. Dr. Phil Withington, while studying the wealthy young men attending university in the 1630s U.K., stated that “These classically-educated students emulated the carousing drinking camaraderie of Ancient Greek and Roman culture. Socialising became intrinsically linked with intoxication and drinking establishments and it became OK to be very, very drunk in public – attitudes we have inherited”. While the claim that the practice of binge-drinking originated in higher education is rather dubious, we must admit that the establishment of these societies and their normalisation of alcohol indulgence most definitely consolidate the universities’ overly tolerant stance on drinking, which has largely remained unchanged.
Undoubtedly, drinking culture at Trinity is far from the Dionysian Mysteries. Sensible drinking is generally practised and advised by the school’s alcohol policies. Moreover, reports made by The Drink Industry Group of Ireland indicate that alcohol consumption is on a steady decline in Ireland, as the average per adult alcohol consumption has decreased by 31% since 2001. Although it is impossible to pinpoint the exact causes for this change, we may reasonably surmise that it is prompted by various factors that include increasing health-consciousness, more options for non-alcoholic alternatives, and higher work/school commitments. The average Irishman, despite the sustained belief that they are heavy drinkers, seems to be turning towards abstinence and sobriety. In light of the downward trend, it’s natural to arrive at the question of why we drink in the first place. If 16th century Irish workers drank for caloric intake, why are 21st century college students drinking when sustenance is no longer a concern? Most would concur with the obvious reasons: enjoyment, stress management, and socialisation. Surely we could all sympathise with these incentives. At the end of the day, nobody hates fun and we could all use a little stress-relief, but the socialising aspect presents more critical problems.
Is drinking really necessary, or even beneficial, for socialising? There have been many accounts over the years from the non-drinking minority at Trinity on various platforms, each delineating the distress students have experienced from choosing not to drink. Not to mention religious beliefs and health conditions hindering one’s alcohol involvement, the decision of whether or not to drink should be a personal one. It is somewhat disconcerting upon examining the social events of the societies here at Trinity that an institution that stresses inclusion as much as our student body still has an overwhelming amount of social events centred around drinking. Pub nights, pub crawls, pub quizzes. Disregarding the complaints made by non-drinkers in the past, pubs remain to be the hubs of student activity and social life. It would be presumptuous to rebuke these harmless night-outs and gatherings altogether, but we must recognize that they are, more or less, excluding a part of our student community and reflecting student values. In a research conducted on university drinking behaviours, Sian Supski writes that ‘the meanings of drinking practice are sometimes contradictory, involving the sociality of drinking with others and belonging, but also social exclusion and pressure to drink are invoked if friends choose to abstain.’ Research on the subject has shown numerous reports of non-drinking students facing teasing and bullying because of their abstinence, disrupting social life and producing peer pressure. After all, it’s difficult to say if alcohol does more harm or good for social purposes at large. One thing that we may all affirm is that it is clearly doing harm to our bank accounts, considering that the average price for a pint in Dublin is now six euros.
There are many interventions the school could undertake to remove the centrality of alcohol in university social life, especially during orientation week, including ‘removing free alcohol from events (either charging for alcohol or making the event alcohol free), which could encourage other modes of belonging which are not alcohol dependent’ as Supski suggested. Student leaders should also take the issue into consideration when organising community-bonding events to create a comfortable and affordable social environment for all students. The dismantling of the stereotypes associated with the Irish people and the pervasive drinking culture at Trinity both require a collective reflection on our current attitudes towards alcohol, and most importantly, if our actions endorse these attitudes.
