Mick McDowell's campaign to ban fun?

ballooba

Anyone else think that Mick McDowell is a big bald pain in the arse?

An article here claiming responsibility for reducing alcohol related crime.

http://www.rte.ie/news/2003/1224/mcdowell.html

All he has served to do is force people to drink in gaffs and have more house parties. I for one have ended up drink more because I can afford a lot more Dutch Gold seeing as I don't go to clubs.

[edit:- see how I've phrased this badly]

As a result [edit:- of more house parties] all my friends flats get wrecked and the landlords get brunt of the hassle rather than the guards. Don't know how many times I have said
'No, no problem at all garda' this year.

He gave out shít to me last general election because I told him i wasn't arsed voting. This time round I reckon i'll be skipping down to the polling station.

I wonder wtf he did with his time in UCD?

Atreides

Just going by what you posed here, your exactly the type of person that dublin saturday nights can do without. I fail to see the problem. Your a drunken agressive gob****e, by your own admittance, and this McDowell guy seems to have made you stay at home.

ballooba

Not one thing I have said there is aggressive.

If I told everyone to go and shít on Mick McDowell's lawn in Ranelagh then that might possibly be seen as agressive.

The comment about dealing with guards is about when they come to deal with complaints about noise from house parties which they never bother to break up just ask us to keep the noise down.

Drunken maybe but agressive no. I have not been in one single fight since I moved to Dublin 4 years ago. I don't know if you went to college but socialising is a big part of it and alcohol features strongly in college social life in every country i have been in. At least i'm not off my tits on coke every night like my mates in th US.

My point is that McDowell has encouraged people to be less sociable and to go out later at night with more drink on them.

Originally posted by ballooba

My point is that McDowell has encouraged people to be less sociable and to go out later at night with more drink on them.

True...I don't know anyone who doesn't get hammered before even leaving for a club any more

Atreides

I manage to socialise without destroying someones home.

ballooba

Originally posted by Skanger
I manage to socialise without destroying someones home.

So do I, but when you turn your house into a club without the luxury of the security that clubs can afford then you can end up with a thrashed house if it goes a little out of hand.

Your comment about saturday night would lead me to believe that you aren't a student and therefore slighlty out of the loop.

Students can't afford €5 for a drink, 4 drinks and your down about €35 if you take taxis and go to clubs which charge in.

I do a bit of events management and this year has been a nightmare. The Revs, a top band from Donegal, played our chrsitmas ball and nobody showed because they can't afford it. The band ended up coming on stage well after 12 to a half full club.

Atreides

Actually I am a student, and I'm really getting pissed off with the number of drunken agressive students roaming the dublin streets on wednesday and thursday, so much so I don't bother going out on those nights. I look around and all I can see is Gardi everywhere trying to keep a lid on things, and I realise why there never seems to be a Garda around when joyriders are flying around in stolen cars, it's because their all in Temple bar. You say this chap has it wrong, maybe you can offer a better solution to the problem.

Originally posted by ballooba
I do a bit of events management and this year has been a nightmare. The Revs, a top band from Donegal, played our chrsitmas ball and nobody showed because they can't afford it. The band ended up coming on stage well after 12 to a half full club.

Yeah I was there if it's the DIT ball in Spirit that you're talking about. They were actually refusing a few people at the door when my and my m8s turned up but we managed to bullshít our way in (I'm not in DIT).

The revs were great but I must say there was fúck all people watching them perform. There was no drinks promotions or anything(that I know of) and that has actually wrecked a lot of the nights lately.


We can only hope that the next minister is the anti-mcdowell and is a raging alcoholic / drug user(and abuser) and starts going fukin crazy!


we can only hope...

ballooba

Originally posted by Skanger
I look around and all I can see is Gardi everywhere trying to keep a lid on things, and I realise why there never seems to be a Garda around when joyriders are flying around in stolen cars, it's because their all in Temple bar.

Again doesn't sound like you are a student or maybe you aren't referring to students.

No self respecting student goes out in temple bar save for a few who go to Boomerangs and the TBMC. The people who hang around in Temple Bar are culchies and brits on stag nights. What student nights happen in temple bar?

You say this chap has it wrong, maybe you can offer a better solution to the problem.

One of the main problems in my opinion is the lack of a proper unified approach to identification. There should be one single goverment sponsored id card which is freely available and cheap.

This happens in the US where all you need to get a State ID card is your Social Security Card and your passport or other official id. Clubs don't allow you on premises without presentation of this ID (John Smith's : No Nonsense) and there are severe consequences for club owners found with underaged drinkers who have not shown satisfactory proof of age (also $20,000 fine for security staff). Security staff photograph ID shown by most punters as proof.

The same ID card could be used for both the purchase of cigarettes and alcohol. These cards could be revoked if the individuals found to be intoxicated or to have comitted alcohol related crime.

Underage drinking and an immature attitude to alcohol is a huge problem in this country especially in rural areas. Proper ID and methods of dealing with people who frustrate the related leglislation would be a good start in my opinion.

Also as with many laws in this country enforcement is a huge problem. We need to look at why laws aren't enforced and how these problems can be resolved. Are police too lazy (probably) or are the procedures involved in enforcement so comlicated that it is just not worth the hassle.

Atreides

Originally posted by ballooba
Again doesn't sound like you are a student or maybe you aren't referring to students.

No self respecting student goes out in temple bar save for a few who go to Boomerangs and the TBMC. The people who hang around in Temple Bar are culchies and brits on stag nights. What student nights happen in temple bar?

Brit stag parties are banned in temple bar.

Originally posted by ballooba
One of the main problems in my opinion is the lack of a proper unified approach to identification. There should be one single goverment sponsored id card which is freely available and cheap.

This happens in the US where all you need to get a State ID card is your Social Security Card and your passport or other official id. Clubs don't allow you on premises without presentation of this ID (John Smith's : No Nonsense) and there are severe consequences for club owners found with underaged drinkers who have not shown satisfactory proof of age (also $20,000 fine for security staff). Security staff photograph ID shown by most punters as proof.

The same ID card could be used for both the purchase of cigarettes and alcohol. These cards could be revoked if the individuals found to be intoxicated or to have comitted alcohol related crime.

Underage drinking and an immature attitude to alcohol is a huge problem in this country especially in rural areas. Proper ID and methods of dealing with people who frustrate the related leglislation would be a good start in my opinion.

Also as with many laws in this country enforcement is a huge problem. We need to look at why laws aren't enforced and how these problems can be resolved. Are police too lazy (probably) or are the procedures involved in enforcement so comlicated that it is just not worth the hassle.

Completely have to disagree with you, underage Drinking is a problem, but not this one. Its extremely hand to get into anywhere in Dublin city without ID. Bing Drinking is the problem.

Originally posted by Skanger
Bing Drinking is the problem.

No...


Binge drinking is the SOLUTION!

Atreides

you need to be shot in the face, with a cannon.... twice

ballooba

Under age drinking is a problem in Dublin. Speaking from the point of view of someone who organises events and has a vested interest in knowing his market

I know that freshers spend the most on going out of anyone and that a large percentage of them are under age. My own sister uses her mates age card and has never had a problem.

Also immature attitudes to drink which are learned down the country are easily brought to Dublin when people start college here.

Im have seen it in Ireland and also in the US. People who are not used to getting into venues barge their way around thinking they are really important. The novelty soon wears off.

Sangre

Pffft, these rules just make drinking worse. People just get locked before going anywhere and continue drinking inside. For example, yesterday I finished work late so I had to rush it into town drinking a nagan on the way, hardly ideal.

Also places closing at the same time leads to too many drunk people on the streets.

Banning British stag parties? What the fúck are you talking about?

And *no* students go to Temple bar

Atreides

Originally posted by Sangre
Pffft, these rules just make drinking worse. People just get locked before going anywhere and continue drinking inside. For example, yesterday I finished work late so I had to rush it into town drinking a nagan on the way, hardly ideal.

Also places closing at the same time leads to too many drunk people on the streets.

Banning British stag parties? What the fúck are you talking about?

And *no* students go to Temple bar

British stag parties where causing allot of trouble, so a large group of the venues in temple bar got together and decided to refuse bookings for british stag parties, it's a well known fact. As for student going to temple bar, You study law at trinity right? quiet a few things have been held in the stags head, the hub, the forum, and other places in and around temple bar, out of trinity/.

Sangre

No, I study law in UCD.

Look, unless they are trying to book a place for a night or something (which is once or twice a year) no one goes out for a night to Temple Bar.

Atreides

"no one goes out for nights in temple bar" hmm thats why the place is always packed full of people going ot pubs and clubs. You mean you don't and the peopel you know don't. Going to UCD explains why you don't go out to temple bar.

Originally posted by Skanger
"no one goes out for nights in temple bar" hmm thats why the place is always packed full of people going ot pubs and clubs. You mean you don't and the peopel you know don't. Going to UCD explains why you don't go out to temple bar.

Temple bar is like some great big nether region of clubbers. They're too old to go to one of the student hangouts, and too young to just hit the local pub every weekend. There's also a good few foreigners, and a good few people who don't regularly go out..."I heard that bobs is good!":rolleyes:

Sangre

Originally posted by Skanger
"no one goes out for nights in temple bar" hmm thats why the place is always packed full of people going ot pubs and clubs. You mean you don't and the peopel you know don't. Going to UCD explains why you don't go out to temple bar.

No, going to college explains why I dont go to templebar. It is not a student hangout.

Atreides

Says you, and you can't speak for all student.

Red Alert

If places closed really late, i mean well after 4am, there'd be two benefits:

(1) - We immature students would have a lot more time to enjoy ourselves for the money we've paid in!
(2) - People would be a lot more tired leaving hence less need for a fight!
(3) - Not everyone would stay until closing time - you'd get a current of people leaving from about 3.30 or so till closing as money runs out so you wouldn't have a huge surge at closing as you do now.

and for everyone's information, UCD are too cool for temple bar

Sangre

Originally posted by Skanger
Says you, and you can't speak for all student.

Fine, I cant, I'll just speak for all cool students.

Atreides

Sorry I've seen your photo, no you can't.

ballooba

Name the student nights in temple bar and the venue they take place in and I'll believe you.

If they are at weekends then they are not student nights.

I don't think its a student night unless at least 80% of the people are students.

Atreides

A quick look through what I'd said here in this thread, I don't see any reference to student nights by me, Point was made that students NEVER EVER EVER go to temple bar, I said hey I've been at afew things in my offical capacity as a student in temple bar, Never claimed I go out drinking in temple bar, infact i think i made the point that i don't go near the place normally due to all the scumbags. The thing I'm objecting to is sangre stance that just because he doesn't do x y and z no one else in dublin does.

gucci

Originally posted by utility_
No...


Binge drinking is the SOLUTION!

the mans a legend!!!


i think the problem is some of us feel we have to get tanked up to enjoy a nite out,hence we stock up on the cheap stuff at home (fink brau being a personal favourite!) then go out later and drunker than we should,so obviously the laws arent working properly if drunken people out wandering the streets is wat the government dosent want,so obviously the present government are living in cloud cuckoo land

Red Alert

yeah, of course we'd be more responsible if things were a lot more liberal...

what's the first thing people do when the water's going to be cut off -> they fill up the bath and pots and pans etc. same with drink: if there was a decent 'supply' we wouldn't need to binge!

gucci

Originally posted by Red Alert
if there was a decent 'supply' we wouldn't need to binge!

in theory yes,practically speaking... probably not!!!if there was a decent supply id prob drink til i couldnt drink anymore,then recovr for a few days then back for more!!!

ballooba

Originally posted by gucci
i think the problem is some of us feel we have to get tanked up to enjoy a nite out,

Good point.

I was in Italy last week skiing. Went into a ski bar at 5:30 and everyone was dancing on tables sober. Literally everyone was dancing from 9 to 60 (actual ages) and nobody gave a **** how they looked because you could always see someone who was a worse dancer.

Maybe Irish people are a bit odd?



[edit] On second thoughts actually, maybe the euro types are a bit odd?[/edit]

gucci

Originally posted by ballooba
nobody gave a **** how they looked because you could always see someone who was a worse dancer.

aaahhh them italians thinking they are better dancers than us!!!

Atreides

Just noticed theres a trinity traffic lights ball in bobs of temple bar tonight, and i asked around and apparently theres quiet afew nights out for students in temple bar.