Apologies. Just to clarify that you're not allowed to bring alcohol, either bought in Croker, or smuggled in, to The Hill or your seats unless you're in the premium/corporate whatever-it's-called level. But I've seen lads drinking from bottles,cans or the plastic glasses they get with beer bought there. If they're drinking responsibily and being courteous to those around them then why not sell them the beer and if they misbehave ask them to leave.

We need to educate our children on responsible drinking, banning sports sponsorship leans towards educating them about abstinence. Right now and for generations our drink culture is, for many, about getting drunk rather than enjoying yourself.

Speaking of the IMO and probable vested interests by not criticisong the IRFU for their association with Guinness : A few months ago I heard a doctor on the radio championing his plan that increasing the price of alcohol will solve our alcohol-related problems like heavily loaded A&E units every weekend for drink-related cases. They took the idea from a similar model that worked in Canada! They need to think from the bottom up rather than the oother way around

GreenandRed (Mayo) - Posts: 7346 - 05/03/2015 21:44:14    1699651

yeah benny you can buy alcohol in croker but you cant bring it to your seat or up onto the hill
you have to stand out the back and drink it
the stewards and guards do police that pretty well from what i have seen in fairnes to them.
I also agree the match is the entertainment why need alcohol while viewing it.
sure you can go before at half time and after the game if they please why during it is beyond me
and maybe its just me but id find it a massive waste of money to pay for a ticket especially the price of rugby tickets
and get plastered and not be able to make out whats happening on the pitch or remember half of it haha
like you say you can do that at home all you want.
it reminds me of easter monday in fairyhouse for the grand national
there does be busses loads of people come in suits and dresses costing a bomb
pay into the races and sit in the bar for the day
dont watch or bet on a race haha just think that is madness and such a waste of money

hill16no1man (Dublin) - Posts: 12665 - 06/03/2015 10:02:52    1699697

You are not allowed to take your drink to your seat in the Premium Level in Croke Park.

Greengrass (Louth) - Posts: 6031 - 06/03/2015 11:35:12    1699730

After reading through all the anti Rugby and soccer posts in various threads on here it amazes me how people who claim to love sport hate anything that is not GAA ,they seem to insinuate that liking other sports makes you less Irish . The vast majority of GAA people are sports lovers of all different types of sports but a very vocal small percentage on here and in GAA generally hate anything that is not GAA and seem to believe that it is wrong to play and watch rugby ,soccer etc. it is a very small minded and actually sad , they blame the media for bias towards other sports which is nonsense , the media write about or broadcast what they believe the people want to read and hear about and at this time of year that is Rugby and soccer , come the summer it will be wall to wall GAA . Last weekend over 1000,000 people watched the Rugby on RTE and probably another 2 or 3 hundread thousand on the BBC so it probably had a bigger audience that the all Irelands , that is why the Media are covering it not because they have a bias . We have sports people all over the world mixing it with the best but they are getting very little coverage but there is not the incessant moaning about it they just get on with it , our cricketers are in with a chance of making the quarter final , out hockey players are flying through olympic qualifying in the USA this week , our athletes are doing great this morning in the qualifying rounds of the European indoors . Sport is for everyone and people should get the chance to enjoy and play what ever sport they want and not be lectured to for doing so , Gaa people are no better or worse than people from other sports everyone has there good ones and there bad ones .

tinrylandman (Carlow) - Posts: 387 - 06/03/2015 13:43:52    1699804

05/03/2015 21:19:51 Greengrass
Ormond you are not allowed bring your beer to your seat in Croke Park. You are allowed to do so in The Aviva. The IMO criticised The GAAs links with Guinness whilst saying nothing about the ubiquitous presence of Guinness at rugby internationals. That was hypocrisy on the part of our doctors. Does it? Are you not in CP as ive never been stopped from doing so.
06/03/2015 10:02:52 hill16no1man
I also agree the match is the entertainment why need alcohol while viewing it.
sure you can go before at half time and after the game if they please why during it is beyond me and maybe its just me but id find it a massive waste of money to pay for a ticket especially the price of rugby tickets And get plastered and not be able to make out whats happening on the pitch or remember half of it haha like you say you can do that at home all you want.Should people not drink If they go to concerts/see live music in a pub/at the theatre etc etc
Its your opinion but most don't think that and why should alcohol be restricted if it doesn't in the overwhelming majority of cases hurt people in ground?

ormondbannerman (Clare) - Posts: 13473 - 06/03/2015 14:55:04    1699845

ormond
I have never been to a play in the bord gais or the gaeity theatres where you are allowed bring alcohol into watch the show
they ask you before the show if you want to reserve a drink for the interval
in the gaeity they dont even let you bring a packet of sweets in
they open them for you and put them in a carton so you dont make noise never mind drink.
also I dont drink when at a music concert or gig while the music is on
but there is a difference in sport and music
sport is promoting a healty living to kids music has nothing got to do with that side of promotion anyway

hill16no1man (Dublin) - Posts: 12665 - 06/03/2015 16:20:19    1699893

Should people not drink If they go to concerts/see live music in a pub/at the theatre etc etc
Its your opinion but most don't think that and why should alcohol be restricted if it doesn't in the overwhelming majority of cases hurt people in ground?

The point is, there are lots of public places where you can enjoy a drink and watch the match. You could smoke three ounces of skunk and watch at home.

What is wrong with having a place where there is no alcohol? We can therefore limit the possibilities for the minority (you are right on that) to ruin the event for many (and there has been numerous complaints made to media outlets about such occurrences).

bennybunny (Cork) - Posts: 3917 - 06/03/2015 16:41:48    1699900

Music concerts that serve alcohol generally have an age restriction as well, as they are not seen as suitable places for young children. Its not very pleasant for young kids to be at a game hoping to see their sporting heroes and being surrounded by 20 lads on a stag party getting more and more drunk as the game goes on. You are given a designated seat so don't even have the option of moving. Its perfectly acceptable for drink to be served at a darts competition as that is a pub game, other sports are surely a little better than that. The French have long had a ban on drinks advertising in sport and the GAA should be applauded for taking a principled stance as well rather than just chasing money with no morals. I do miss the Guinness 'Not men but giants' ads though.

Soma (UK) - Posts: 2630 - 06/03/2015 17:06:22    1699915

06/03/2015 16:20:19 hill16no1man
Ormond I have never been to a play in the bord gais or the gaeity theatres where you are allowed bring alcohol into watch the show
they ask you before the show if you want to reserve a drink for the interval in the gaeity they dont even let you bring a packet of sweets in they open them for you and put them in a carton so you dont make noise never mind drink. also I dont drink when at a music concert or gig while the music is on but there is a difference in sport and music
sport is promoting a healty living to kids music has nothing got to do with that side of promotion anyway Strange as ive always been able to bring a drink into a theatre etc when at plays. There isn't a difference for a lot of people in music and sport(in terms of big matches/bouts etc) as in they both are entertainment, place for people to socialise
06/03/2015 16:41:48 bennybunny
The point is, there are lots of public places where you can enjoy a drink and watch the match. You could smoke three ounces of skunk and watch at home.
What is wrong with having a place where there is no alcohol? We can therefore limit the possibilities for the minority (you are right on that) to ruin the event for many (and there has been numerous complaints made to media outlets about such occurrences)Why should my civil liberties be restricted in not being allowed to drink in a ground when there is no history of trouble etc. There is nothing wrong with a place with no alcohol but a sporting occasion is fine if there is no history of trouble and stewards can police the spectator areas with appropriate sanctions for people who disobey directions.

ormondbannerman (Clare) - Posts: 13473 - 06/03/2015 18:43:51    1699945

ormond you do realise alcohol is harmfull right?
because its legal dont change the fact
you strike me as the type who takes what society says as allowed for gospel and that the rules are the rules type of bloke

hill16no1man (Dublin) - Posts: 12665 - 06/03/2015 18:48:54    1699946

Hill it is very harmful if abused and it is being abused by many. It's a highly addictive drug and alcoholism is a disease recognised for a long time by the World Health Organisation. Not only the drinker is affected, family and friends of an alcoholic suffer enormous stress. Where you won't see drug addicts gathered at a table in a publiv place egging each other on to take more harmful substance but it's grand to see a gang of lads or ladies to egg each other on sinking pints, doing shots in the misbelief that getting hammered is what a good night is all about. A waste of money and very harmful to their health.

But a lot of people can drink responsibily, at home, in the pub or at a match.If they drink at a match in a safe and civil manner what harm are they actually doing. Just like adults who go overboard and some who can drink responsibily there are kids who might be fickle enough to go overboard drinking and some who are responsible. I doubt many of them will get a taste for beer just because it's on sale at a GAA or Rugby ground. Peer pressure from their mates usually affects their choices. Sad but ttue. Parents and schools need to wake up to this rather than bury their head in the sand

GreenandRed (Mayo) - Posts: 7346 - 06/03/2015 21:09:17    1699981

It was interesting to see the poor crowd at Donnybrook last weekend for the under 20 game despite having the perfect conditions to attract a crowd and been in rugby's heartland, Ormond have always claimed that the reason for the poor crowds for the under 20's was because the were held in athlone, i would have had hated to have seen the crowd if the under 20's were playing Italy after losing a couple of games. This weekend Rte will be giving more coverage to rugby then football and hurling combined, despite there been no international rugby on. I was at the Ireland New Zealand game 15 months ago and the amount of people who missed our first 2 trys, yet came back with pints was amazing and the amount of people who went to the bar when Sexton was about to take a penalty was just bizarre. Rte show more domestic soccer then the do football or hurling you would have to ask why is this. I don't know why Rte cant give results of the three bootom leagues in hurling yet the can give results of teams at the bottom of the championship in England or why the can show action from the annual wooden spoon rubgy game and yet cant mention the football or hurling games which are about to start as the did last weekend.

ros1 (Roscommon) - Posts: 1211 - 06/03/2015 22:00:02    1699996

06/03/2015 18:48:54 hill16no1man
ormond you do realise alcohol is harmfull right? because its legal dont change the fact you strike me as the type who takes what society says as allowed for gospel and that the rules are the rules type of bloke You know nothing on me. Stop talking rubbish
06/03/2015 22:00:02 ROS1
It was interesting to see the poor crowd at Donnybrook last weekend for the under 20 game despite having the perfect conditions to attract a crowd and been in rugby's heartland, Ormond have always claimed that the reason for the poor crowds for the under 20's was because the were held in athlone, i would have had hated to have seen the crowd if the under 20's were playing Italy after losing a couple of games. This weekend Rte will be giving more coverage to rugby then football and hurling combined, despite there been no international rugby on. I was at the Ireland New Zealand game 15 months ago and the amount of people who missed our first 2 trys, yet came back with pints was amazing and the amount of people who went to the bar when Sexton was about to take a penalty was just bizarre. Rte show more domestic soccer then the do football or hurling you would have to ask why is this. I don't know why Rte cant give results of the three bootom leagues in hurling yet the can give results of teams at the bottom of the championship in England or why the can show action from the annual wooden spoon rubgy game and yet cant mention the football or hurling games which are about to start as the did last weekend. What was the attendance that made it sucha poorly attended game in Donnybrook?
Poor potshots at rugby and drink. Yawn! Why don't you email RTE and screenshot it here and screenshot the reply.
Tony Wards article on schools rugby p****d me off Saturday so I emailed him and he came back to me with a reply...
Annual wooden spoon game in 6Ns makes RTE lots of money. Does the bottom levels of the national hurling league do the same?

ormondbannerman (Clare) - Posts: 13473 - 08/03/2015 21:45:55    1700606

in what way does the annual wooden spoon game in the 6 nations make rte lots of money tell me?...provide some facts please

fabio8 (USA) - Posts: 2182 - 08/03/2015 21:54:58    1700620

Why should my civil liberties be restricted in not being allowed to drink in a ground when there is no history of trouble etc. There is nothing wrong with a place with no alcohol but a sporting occasion is fine if there is no history of trouble and stewards can police the spectator areas with appropriate sanctions for people who disobey directions.

The right to assembly is a civil liberty. If I am prevented from doing that, my civil liberties are restricted.

Yesterday at Pairc Ui Rinn, spectators were forced to watch Cork beating Kerry without being able to drink a drop while doing so (not exactly true as I could have hopped in to the Glenanaar and watched it deferred on TG4 whilst bating the pints in to them). Were our civil liberties restricted? I am trying to follow your argument.

bennybunny (Cork) - Posts: 3917 - 09/03/2015 08:19:20    1700635

f there is no history of trouble and stewards can police the spectator areas with appropriate sanctions for people who disobey directions.

Yes, if this happens then fair enough. People that are misbehaving should be expelled. It is possible that if alcohol sales were restricted/prohibited there would still be people arriving tanked up from a local hostelry and causing a nuisance. Alcohol doesn't cause messing per se as the majority can drink away and not be any trouble. Abusing the alcohol is the issue.

I do not buy the civil liberties argument. The associations simply want to get an extra revenue stream. This is their right and there will always be a demand so they are exploiting it. The associations (IRFU, GAA etc) are not responsible for society's ills.

Without being prudish, I find it disappointing that the GAA has started to expand its alcohol sales. As I mentioned, there are loads of places to get a drink and watch the game. It is for an hour and a half and one is being provided with entertainment.

bennybunny (Cork) - Posts: 3917 - 09/03/2015 09:10:57    1700649

f there is no history of trouble and stewards can police the spectator areas with appropriate sanctions for people who disobey directions.

Yes, if this happens then fair enough. People that are misbehaving should be expelled. It is possible that if alcohol sales were restricted/prohibited there would still be people arriving tanked up from a local hostelry and causing a nuisance. Alcohol doesn't cause messing per se as the majority can drink away and not be any trouble. Abusing the alcohol is the issue.

I do not buy the civil liberties argument. The associations simply want to get an extra revenue stream. This is their right and there will always be a demand so they are exploiting it. The associations (IRFU, GAA etc) are not responsible for society's ills.

Without being prudish, I find it disappointing that the GAA has started to expand its alcohol sales. As I mentioned, there are loads of places to get a drink and watch the game. It is for an hour and a half and one is being provided with entertainment.

bennybunny (Cork) - Posts: 3917 - 09/03/2015 09:14:44    1700650

Mediaman I think I have an answer to why there is a camogie kit wearing schoolgirl in the out-of-control drinking campaign. I went on their site rolemodels.ie and submitted something. The camogie girl is not being portrayed as a heavy drinker but rather the relative of an alcoholic. She's not on a good place as she's indirectly affected by alcoholism. I know it's annoying to many that Rugby gets more media coverage than GAA and that drinking is not the topic here but it it is a big problem nonetheless. Fergus Finlay, head of Barnardos, an honorable man I think, is one of the heads of this campaign. I don't believe they're painting Camogie or GAA in a negative light. Indeed the GAA have been involved in responsible drinking iniatives. I would encourage anyone interested to check out the rolemodels site and see what ye think, maybe post something there. We're a week away from one of if not the the biggest out of control drinking day of the year. Helps focus on what is important.

GreenandRed (Mayo) - Posts: 7346 - 09/03/2015 11:11:06    1700742

The 'Out of Control' drinking ad clearly implies that the problem of excessive drinking has links to camogie/hurling. Considering the huge drink culture surrounding rugby union and the fact that Guinness and the Irish Rugby Union Players Association are behind the campaign wouldn't you think it would have featured a young rugby player. Someone sat down and decided to protect the image of rugby in this ad at the expense of a sport that has absolutely no history of out of control drinking. None of this happens by chance. Camogie is a soft target. The Camogie Association deserves an apology for this shameful act of image assassination. This is why people are so suspicious of who is behind these campaigns.

mediaman (Antrim) - Posts: 355 - 09/03/2015 20:37:38    1701085

06/03/2015 16:20:19 hill16no1man
ormond I have never been to a play in the bord gais or the gaeity theatres where you are allowed bring alcohol into watch the show
they ask you before the show if you want to reserve a drink for the interval
in the gaeity they dont even let you bring a packet of sweets in
they open them for you and put them in a carton so you dont make noise never mind drink.
also I dont drink when at a music concert or gig while the music is on
but there is a difference in sport and music
sport is promoting a healty living to kids music has nothing got to do with that side of promotion anyway That's strange as I regularly attend plays/musicals in theatres across Galway the Blackbox etc and never once stopped.
There isn't that much of a difference between music and sport as spectator events. People are going to be entertained. The match/concert is a social occasion and one for entertainment.
06/03/2015 16:41:48 bennybunny
What is wrong with having a place where there is no alcohol? We can therefore limit the possibilities for the minority (you are right on that) to ruin the event for many (and there has been numerous complaints made to media outlets about such occurrences Why should a sporting event be limited in having no alcohol sold? What about music events/concerts/plays/public readings etc
You are speaking of the potential for an event to be disrupted. You cant say an event will be disrupted if alcohol is sold so you cant ban it because there is a small chance something out of the ordinary could occur. If there was proof that alcohol disrupted an event for the majority then ban it but until then no it should be allowed to be sold/drank at games/matches

ormondbannerman (Clare) - Posts: 13473 - 10/03/2015 12:00:15    1701201