I'm no Matt Talbot myself but I was surprised to see Bars underneath the Old Stand last Sunday, went down to get the young lad a bottle of water but the one remaining shop was sold out of water , where the other shops were seems to be taking over with bars and there were a share swilling back the Lager at HT and after it by the looks of it....seems a far cry from the message we need to send the many children present ...are the GAA that desperate for a few quid..surely there are enough bars in Thurles besides selling lager underneath the stands of this famous stadium??

hurler32 (Limerick) - Posts: 867 - 04/06/2014 19:13:54    1598228

If you feel that strongly about it you should write a letter of complaint to the Tipperary County Board.

Killarney.87 (Tipperary) - Posts: 2513 - 04/06/2014 19:28:03    1598234

All right, relax there Helen Lovejoy. Did you ever go to a rugby match? Your head will be like the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark with the amount of beer flying around and not just under the stand. During the game and all.

As a nation we're actually not drinking all that much anymore: link" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/health-family/has-our-national-lust-for-alcohol-been-cured-1.1801482?page=1">link

doublehop (Kildare) - Posts: 4172 - 04/06/2014 19:44:17    1598242

04/06/2014 19:13:54 hurler32
I'm no Matt Talbot myself but I was surprised to see Bars underneath the Old Stand last Sunday, went down to get the young lad a bottle of water but the one remaining shop was sold out of water , where the other shops were seems to be taking over with bars and there were a share swilling back the Lager at HT and after it by the looks of it....seems a far cry from the message we need to send the many children present ...are the GAA that desperate for a few quid..surely there are enough bars in Thurles besides selling lager underneath the stands of this famous stadium?? Ah here.. really. Nothing wrong with having bars selling alcohol at any big sportsground like Semple Stadium.
Email Tipperary County Board if you feel so strong about this. For many people going to a game is a big day out and people will want to enjoy themselves and have a few drinks watching the game. GAA often don't even keep large amount of cash from those shops which are tendered out to third parties.
04/06/2014 19:44:17 doublehop
All right, relax there Helen Lovejoy. Did you ever go to a rugby match? Your head will be like the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark with the amount of beer flying around and not just under the stand. During the game and all.

As a nation we're actually not drinking all that much anymore: http://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/health-family/has-our-national-lust-for-alcohol-been-cured-1.1801482?page=1" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">link Its same at all big sporting events not just rugby.
Nothing wrong with it if people not hassling others.

ormondbannerman (Clare) - Posts: 13473 - 04/06/2014 21:22:09    1598295

They were searching people for alcohol last year going in and then confiscating it. Seems a bit like what the cinema do with food. You can have drink as long as it's drink we sold.

RebelCork (Cork) - Posts: 789 - 04/06/2014 21:37:12    1598306

04/06/2014 21:37:12
RebelCork
They were searching people for alcohol last year going in and then confiscating it. Seems a bit like what the cinema do with food. You can have drink as long as it's drink we sold. Where they? Havent heard of that happening at many grounds in many sports. Only place I regularly hear of people being searched for alcohol on way into games is schools cup rugby games in Donnybrook.

ormondbannerman (Clare) - Posts: 13473 - 04/06/2014 21:46:23    1598316

As in getting them to step aside and search their bags. They weren't frisking them or anything.

RebelCork (Cork) - Posts: 789 - 04/06/2014 21:51:30    1598322

I completely agree with you hurler. A championship game attended by families and kids played at 3 o'clock in the afternoon is no place for alcohol to be getting sold. If people cant enjoy a game for 70 minutes without drinking during it then it is a sorrowful situation. As the GAA have banned advertising of alcohol, it seems a bizarre idea to then bring the actual product into the ground. And I say all that as someone who enjoys discussing the big games over a pint before and after the game in a nearby pub.

Soma (UK) - Posts: 2630 - 04/06/2014 21:56:40    1598329

Soma
County: UK
Posts: 309

1598329
I completely agree with you hurler. A championship game attended by families and kids played at 3 o'clock in the afternoon is no place for alcohol to be getting sold. If people cant enjoy a game for 70 minutes without drinking during it then it is a sorrowful situation. As the GAA have banned advertising of alcohol, it seems a bizarre idea to then bring the actual product into the ground. And I say all that as someone who enjoys discussing the big games over a pint before and after the game in a nearby pub.

People with this nanny - state attitude disgust me. It is a free country so if some people want to have a few pints on their day off while enjoying our native games then let them on. These people work hard all week and pay taxes through the nose to try and get this country off its knees, then have to listen to holier than thou do-gooders like you preaching prohibition.

If people kept their noses out of other peoples business the world would be a much better place.

Horse (Laois) - Posts: 1146 - 05/06/2014 09:31:28    1598383

If you can drink in Croker why not in Semple?

keeper7 (Longford) - Posts: 4088 - 05/06/2014 10:10:47    1598400

If people know they can get a pint or 2 in at the game it's better than them getting plastered before it!

keeper7 (Longford) - Posts: 4088 - 05/06/2014 10:37:15    1598422

Jaysus horse that is a fair bit of over-reacting to what was just an opinion - have you a bad hangover or anything this morning? Anyway, I don't preach prohibition at all, just think there are some occasions and places that are ideal for alcohol and some that are not, and I would say a GAA ground is one of the places that is not. How can it make sense to ban alcohol advertising and deny the association all the money this brings in because it doesn't want to associate the game with alcohol, but then say that they will sell it to you when you come along to the ground anyway? If you are selling alcohol in a ground then you need proper security personnel to deal with any trouble, underage drinking etc. I am not sure if county grounds would have these people available to monitor it all, Croke Park does because it is used to dealing with big events and have a dedicated security team. I go to soccer game over here, with alcohol served at league games but not at European games. There is no doubt that European games tend to be more enjoyable to attend for almost everybody, and generally get a bigger crowd. In the most part people go to top sports events to watch the game, and it is the quality of the game that determines how enjoyable the experience is.

Soma (UK) - Posts: 2630 - 05/06/2014 11:14:40    1598450

I was surprised myself to see bars under the stand, but it was a pleasant surprise. I said to Limerick GAA chiefs last year that they really missed out in not having a Marquee bar at the Munster final. If you can drink outside the door of Thurles Sarsfields then why not under the stand in the stadium. I am all for this so long as its controlled. Its quite acceptable in any other grounds i have been at in other sports.

Clubgaa (Limerick) - Posts: 879 - 05/06/2014 11:17:47    1598453

And what about people who bring children to GAA clubs - who get much neded income from the sale of alcohol- and pubs to watch games. Should they now be targeted too? It doesn't do any harm for a child to see adults consume alcohol as long as it's done responsably.

lilywhite1 (Kildare) - Posts: 2990 - 05/06/2014 11:36:51    1598465

I have no problem with people bringing kids to pubs lily, this is what the parents choose to do and they should be allowed to do so. And I also agree that there is nothing wrong with kids seeing adults drinking responsibly. However, who is making sure in Thurles stadium that adults are drinking responsibly? And surely a family should be allowed to go to a game and the kids head off for the half-time sweets without having to battle through a group of adults getting steamed? Passions tend to rise at GAA games, and there have been incidents of players and referees being attacked by spectators - should we really be throwing more alcohol into that mix? Just seems a backward step to be taking really.

Soma (UK) - Posts: 2630 - 05/06/2014 12:15:17    1598505

Lets face it, if alcohol was never invented the world would be a better place. Its a drug that has done more harm to society than any other but yet you have people who think that promoting a life without alcohol is political correctness or you are some kind of wierdo. As a grassroots sporting organisation the GAA has to do its best to protect its underage members from becoming involved in taking alcohol. One of the dangers of selling alcohol at games is that younger kids see it as an acceptance of alcohol within the GAA, especially if they see some former or even current great swilling pints. Children need role models and if parents cannot provide that then the GAA can and thats why the GAA needs to be very careful how it controls and sells alcohol at these games. At the end of the day its a GAA event not some barn dance and the shouldn't care how much tax anyone pays. Also I don't want to hear anyone go on about rugby, rugby has a real issue with its promotion of alcohol and is no benchmark to set ourselves against. Yes I do drink - wish I never did and hope my kids never will.

zinny (Wexford) - Posts: 1804 - 05/06/2014 12:43:40    1598532

Soma, if people are banned from drinking at games, then they will just drink more in the pub before entering the ground, and this will increase the chances of problems at games, as things stand currently, there are little or no incidents at most games.

PK57 (Louth) - Posts: 1653 - 05/06/2014 12:55:19    1598543

I don't believe that at all to be honest PK. Lets say the game is on at 3, your average guy who enjoys a pint will arrive in the town for maybe 12-1, have 2-3 pints and get into the ground for 2.45. Others will come by bus and will be drinking from once they get on the bus. Nobody is likely to say "I will give the 2 points beforehand in the pub a miss because I can just drink in the ground instead" or "I wont drink on the bus, instead I will drink from a plastic glass underneath the stand when I get there". They tend to keep to their usual routine, and then just drink the extra alcohol available in the ground if it is available. A lad who has been drinking before the game but has not had a drop for the close to 2 hours before the final whistle tends to behave more sensibly than a lad who has been drinking throughout the game. I notice for European soccer games here most spectators don't drink as much beforehand than they would a league game, because it becomes a long 2 hours of basically sobering up within the ground then while the game is on.

Soma (UK) - Posts: 2630 - 05/06/2014 13:18:59    1598563

I lived abroad in Europe for two years , my kids were nippers , alot of drinking was out doors late with food and a gathering , it would be inconceivable to receive an invitation to dinner and not take whole family , so my kids from a very early age like many europeans became familiar with alcohol and socialising from the cradle ,
On returning home I was struck by our uptight intolerant attitude to kids anywhere near alcohol , I didn't care and when booking restaurants would routinely just book for 4 , on arriving the looks would kill , however being used to this social outing my kids were never a problem ,
Just feel education is needed not preaching .

Damothedub (Dublin) - Posts: 5193 - 05/06/2014 13:27:21    1598566

Here is a rough list of sports I have had a drink in the stadium at while attending an event:

Football
Hurling
Soccer
Rugby
Baseball
Basketball
MMA
Boxing
Aussie Rules
Cricket

In fact the only time I've been in a stadium where they didn't serve drink is international soccer matches which I believe is a UEFA thing.

As for the GAA. It's all about promoting responsible drinking. Having a pint in the afternoon around the family and friends attending an event is for the most part drinking in a social environment. If you're not going on a binge or overdoing it then no harm done.

And if people are prepared to get hammered and then make their way home with kids around then they're as likely to do that in the pub or meet drunken idiots on the street.

The bottom line is the more you make it a taboo subject the more teenagers will be attracted to it. What's been shown to be more successful is to show that it's not new or different or cool or crazy to get yourself into a drunken mess and that drinking in moderation as a social activity where you appreciate the craic and the taste will lead to changes in attitudes. Insulating young people from this stuff won't teach them anything.

doublehop (Kildare) - Posts: 4172 - 05/06/2014 13:33:14    1598572