Friday 25 March 2016

Dog days

A long-standing restriction in the Republic of Ireland is that all pubs and off-licences are closed on Good Friday. Surely this is a relic of the country’s Catholic past and, if they can legalise gay marriage, it’s hard to understand why this too can’t be swept aside.

In the past, the national Irish dog show used to be held on Good Friday, and this was one of the rare places where drink could be obtained. Not surprisingly, it attracted some visitors whose interest in matters canine was limited. Apparently one, after having consumed a few jars, tripped over a pooch and exclaimed “Bloody stupid place to bring a dog!”

This article suggests that such loopholes have now been eliminated, though.

(A good excuse for a pic of an Irish Setter)

4 comments:

  1. Drink was available at the Ireland v Switzerland football friendly match in Dublin last night, which may have pushed up the attendance somewhat.

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    Replies
    1. Although I would imagine the ticket price was a bit high if you weren't really interested in football ;-)

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  2. Like Scotland, the political classes see it as their aim to keep the prols off the sauce, so a puritanical attitude to booze may extend beyond a decreasing religious section and may even be a bone you can throw them.

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  3. I usually have to work at Easter, and a few years ago saw myself and colleagues in Belfast, and getting a drink was tricky that side of the border on Easter Sunday evening.

    ReplyDelete

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