Alcohol initiation - Survival of rural pubs

At first glance, the plan to introduce the young people of Kerry and West Cork to drink alcohol through “traditional methods” of initiation smacks of an Irish joke.

Nor is that impression diminished on closer inspection, although there is much more to this scenario than meets the eye.

The plan is to attract potential young drinkers to frequent pubs by staging events such as film clubs, Irish-speaking nights, and comedy sessions. The aim behind this scheme, devised by the Vintners Federation of Ireland, is to combat low consumer spending, changing lifestyles, and mass emigration from rural Ireland, where many pubs are in danger of closing.

While the intention is to encourage young people to drink responsibly in the company of older “minders”, with zero booze tolerance on the horizon for motorists, the outlook for the survival of rural pubs is even more ominous than people realise.