Relationship that we need to redefine - Destructive drinking

Like an insecure, old-school politician who feels duty bound to be seen at nearly every funeral in their constituency, alcohol is a pallbearer at almost every tragedy, every premature or accidental loss of life, in this society.

Alcohol is the primary cause of a huge proportion of road accidents and deaths; it is at the root of the great majority of minor and not so minor court cases; it is the fuel in so many instances of sexual assault or child abuse; it is the elephant in the corner for so many destroyed and failed relationships, personal or business; it is the final, empowering permission in the long, dark maze leading to so many suicides; it destroys promising careers and once-happy families; it, almost more than anything else, is a significant factor in many people remaining homeless.

Alcohol abuse creates an atmosphere that moves many people on from misusing alcohol to using other destructive substances and, as if that was not enough, it eats away at our energy and self-esteem, facilitating everything from depression to obesity. Nearly every Irish family can place an alcoholic in their family tree and there is hardly a more toxic legacy to leave a child than the one imposed by an absent, untrustworthy, selfish, and ineffective alcoholic parent.