Nothing to do in Ireland except drink !

Rory123

[quote=[Deleted User];59140188]Would you ever stop making things up? The population of Dublin is a lot more than 1 million, and no city in Western Europe has a population of 30 million. :rolleyes:

And what's your point about the minimum wage? Yes, it's high in Ireland, and the cost of living in astronomical. The cinema costs over a tenner for a ticket, bowling costs 30-40 quid an hour. Iceskating is a rip. Where are all these fun, free activities that don't involve doing sports outside in the dark and rain?[/quote]
I must also add here that along with the expense of the likes of bowling or iceskating or go-karting etc, these are the sorts of things a lot of people would only like to do 2 or 3 times a year. I'd get pretty pist off I went bowling every second or 3rd friday night... even if I had the money for it.

Aodan83

Armin_Tamzarian wrote: »

I've also noticed the 'GAA problem' in most of Ireland's villages and small towns.
As a sporting and social entity, if you're not into / part of the local GAA then you're pretty much left out.
This is not so much a criticism as an observation.
It just strikes me that if one were into GAA the one would have alot less difficulty in, say, integrating oneself into a new community and getting involved in things.

I've noticed that too. Played GAA for most of ten years, stopped about a year ago. Since then, I hardly ever see the lads I played with, as none of my circle of friends live in my area, and although I was friendly with them, I never hung around with them outside of the GAA. But there is nothing to do in my area outside of the GAA or the pub.(there are 2 pubs and and all the facilities are owned by the GAA club!!)I find it a bit depressin that there is nothing to do that would bring me into regular contact with the people I live next door to!

Rory123

Ok so I decided to do a small experiment. I took a medium town in Ireland and a very similar one in Spain.
Swords and Cerdanyola del Vallés. Both are of a similar size, population etc. Cerdanyola is almost the same distance from Barcelona as Swords is from Dublin. I chose Swords as it is my local big town and Cedanyola as it is where, my sister lived so I have been there before.
I put "leisure activities in Cerdanyola" and "leisure activities in Swords" into Google. I picked the best result I could find for each of the two searches.

Here are the free planned events in Cerdanyola for Spring 09 (not counting the cinemas, bars, go-karting etc)...

• Can Coll Spring Festival in March: The spring festival is celebrated one Sunday morning In March at the former Can Coll farmhouse. Guided activities to welcome in the good weather and see first-hand how life sprouts and grows in the Collserola Mountains. Information by calling 936 920 396.
• Chess Open in April-May. The trajectory of the neighbourhood Cerdanyola Chess Club, with over 50 years of history behind them, guarantee the popularity of this championship. The club has sections ranging to the division of honour, the highest competition category and a school so that you can learn to move your pieces on the board. (guia d?entitats)
• Firestoc in April: Outside festival one Sunday in April. Over thirty businesses from Cerdanyola sell products from the previous spring at reduced prices but with the same high quality. Fashion, home furnishings, accessories and children's clothing are just a few of the things you can buy there. There are two annual events, in April and in the autumn. During this recognised fair there are outings and children's activities, as well as restaurant services, public services and a crèche.
• Festival of Saint George on 23 April: A splendid time and an unrivalled setting lure you to stroll around the book and rose markets. Enjoy the smell of the roses and the pursuit of literature. There are stands representing organisations, parties and student associations all putting out their best on offer to collect money from the famous festival. Newly formed traditions, like the 24-hours of non-stop reading, contribute to bringing the pleasure of reading to one and all. Around Saint George Day, a concert is prepared and the literary prizes are awarded for Cerdanyola and the Autonomous University during Literary Night. The Aragon Cultural House in Cerdanyola (casaaragon.vegga.net), pays homage to its patron saint, Saint George, with a festive programme.
• Aqüeducte Biennial International Photography Competition in April: Every two years, the prizes are awarded for the international Aqüeducte photography competition. Ranked alongside the most prestigious photography show in the world, Aqüeducte receives thousands of photos at each event from everywhere, which have a specific subject. Photos about nature, cultures of the world, documentary reporting and experimentation with new digital technologies have been just a few of the recent topics. Competition and itinerant exhibition, don?t miss out on the opportunity to take a look at the Aqüeducte catalogue. The New York Museum of Modern Art, MOMA, requests a copy of each event?s book. The Aqüeducte Biennial is also known for its careful organisation at the hands of the Cerdanyola and Ripollet Photo-Cine Group (AFOCER), one of the associations with the longest history in the municipality.
• Patron Saint Festival of Roser during the second weekend of May: The streets of the city are converted into a giant stage where everyone is invited to participate and enjoy music, theatre, traditions, games, local gastronomy, sports and even history. Over forty activities, everything done in Cerdanyola throughout the year is concentrated into a long weekend, where the true stars are the citizens.
• Race through Collserola May. Popular race of some 13.6 kilometres. The unique feature about this sports event is the route, which passes through the Collserola Mountains, adding excitement and difficulty. Mountain race.
• Night of the Cante Jondo in May: The best Flamenco singers accompanied by guitar masters come together for an unforgettable evening. Already over 20 years old, the know-how of the Andalusia Cultural House has placed Cerdonyola on the Flamenco map in a surprising way. On the stages of the Ateneu and the Andalusia Cultural House, you will see everything from the most orthodox presentations to the newest and most promising artists of cande jondo.
• Festival of the Garnished Bicycles on the first weekend in June: Dozens of bicycles that have been converted into giraffes, kitchens, dolphins, butterflies, fire engines and anything else in a child's fantasy world parade through the streets of the city to the plaza where the Bambalina volunteer group celebrates the closing of the season of children's shows and activities.
• Live music and lots of entertainment to say adios and until next year. The Garnished Bicycle is like a bicycle costume contest, individual and in groups, but it is not only this. In reality, it is a proposal to let your imagination fly and share in a creative process with your family or friends.
• Street Artists in June: Artists from Cerdanyola and other surrounding towns all agree. They research for months, finding and studying the work of a recognised artist. There are then public talks about his or her painting and they create inspired by the year's featured artist. The works created from this most unusual proposal are then exhibited on the streets for a day, with the intention of getting closer to the world of art, as well as in galleries and halls throughout the city. Josep de Togores, Gaudi, Josep Guinovart, Salvador Dalí, Manolo Valdés and the Mona Lisa have all been subjected to the eyes of local creators. You can find further information at the Web site for the association of plastic artists of Cerdanyola at www.artistesplasticsdecerdanyola.es.
• Festival of Homage and Recognition for the Elderly in June: Through this festival, Cerdanyola wants to recognise the active support of the elderly in constructing the city. Synonym of participation, it is organised by the coordinator of the elderly and associations. Activities, handing out of prizes and a dance are the culmination on this civic event that emphasises meeting and sharing.
• Neighbourhood Festivals: A good excuse for getting to know your neighbours. The neighbourhood festivals, organised by the neighbour associations, make the city a friendlier place to be. Festival of Sant Martí-Xarau (end of May) Festival of Turó de Sant Pau (May), Festivals of Can Xarau (June), Festivals of Banús-Bonasort (June), Festival of Canaletes (June), Festival of Les Fontetes (June), Festival of Serraperera (June), Festivals of Montflorit (July)
• More festivals and traditions during the springtime: Religious traditions, typical cuisine, trade shows and sports events. Proposals for the good weather.

There is no point in posting the results for Swords as all that came up on the site that was most suitable was lisings of the Bars, clubs and restaurants. And the attractions section only had over-priced stuff for the City Centre like The Guinness Museum.

Here are the 2 links:
http://www.mytown.ie/town119,swords.html

http://www.cerdanyola.cat/web/continguts_portal/en/apartats/menu_principal/descobrir_cerdanyola/cerdanyola_te_tradicions_festes_i_esdeveniments/primavera/Spring.html

Enough said I think!

Sam Kade

bladebrew wrote: »

if you were workin 100hours a week you wouldnt be worried about doing anything after work! that would leave about 9 hours per day to eat and sleep,thats including saturday and sunday,plus even on minimun wage you would be making over 800euro a week so you would have money to do things but no time to do it:)

what job was that?

Dairy farming self employed.

truecrippler

Overflow wrote: »

When i lived in Ireland of course i did this myself, but since moving to Norway and experiencing their culture, it is very different as you can imagine. They do like drink and go out quite regularly but they are also a very active people, part-taking in tons of other activities. For example we go skiing quite often, or head to the local cross country circuit. Go ice skating on frozen lakes. Go mushroom picking :D, have picnics in the mountains, go on cabin trips, camping on the skerries, or in summertime we go out boating a lot, to the beach, or to the local lakes (which there are millions of) for some swimming, among numerous other things.

I've gone camping in Skerries before.

anonymous_joe

Anything you organise in Ireland will be ruined by drizzle and no-one'll come...

rossie1977

Wibbs wrote: »

No offence but you most certainly didn't. I can think of about 10 art galleries of the top of my head with about the same number in Barcelona. Rome? forget about it.

visit 10 art galleries in one city :eek: sorry but no thanks, i visited Museo del Prado and that was enough for me.

Harmoni White Babyhood wrote:

Would you ever stop making things up? The population of Dublin is a lot more than 1 million, and no city in Western Europe has a population of 30 million.

the population of the entire county dublin is 1,187,176 http://www.cso.ie/studentscorner/statsfactsdublin.htm

you are right that no city in western or any other part of europe has close to 30 million

Cherry Blossom

What's all this money rubbish? :rolleyes: It costs me €5 for an hours kickboxing lesson and €20 for a riding lesson. I'd spend a lot more than that on a night out even if was an alcohol free one?!? Just pick a hobby n go out n do it instead of whinging on some forum about having nothing to do because you can't be bothered to think of anything. If you can't do the stuff you like locally try something new!;)

Judgement Day

I have to agree with many posters here there's little to do in Ireland except for bloody GAA, drink and keeping out of the rain! An advertising campaign currently being run on RTE for the Heart of England really rams the point home - Castles, Museums, Theatre, Steam Railways, Theme Parks etc.etc...not bloody OPW Interpretative Centres! The one thing Ireland had going for it was its scenery but now even that has been wrecked by one-off houses, windfarms, sprawling towns of identical concrete breeding boxes...

Our main tourist attractions are here due to our colonial legacy - from Dublin Zoo, the National Gallery, Stately Homes, The Royal Hospital - most of what the State created to 'interpret' our heritage over the last 30 years is rubbish - the Corlea Trackway at Longford and the Lismore Experience are classic examples of this. The only 'steam' railway in the country at Blennerville - always a an example of how NOT to do it - has been closed for the last three years. Our 'so-called' National Transport Museum is in a derelict hay barn in Howth.

There is a NO-CAN-DO policy in the Republic of Ireland and anybody seriously interested in doing anything (outside the GAA) gets no support from anybody in authority - The Heritage Council, Failte Ireland or relevant Govt. departments. The system eventually breaks us all and we give up and go away quietly which, of course, is what 'they' want. :mad:

This is why there is nothing do in the Republic of Ireland.

Rory123

adrenalinjunkie wrote: »

What's all this money rubbish? :rolleyes: It costs me €5 for an hours kickboxing lesson and €20 for a riding lesson. I'd spend a lot more than that on a night out even if was an alcohol free one?!? Just pick a hobby n go out n do it instead of whinging on some forum about having nothing to do because you can't be bothered to think of anything. If you can't do the stuff you like locally try something new!;)

Sport sport sport sport. Sport? Sport, sport. Sport. Sport sport.

banshee_bones

This is especially true in Galway.


Even if you want to just have coffee with some mates (as i do with a certain group on some occassions) there is only ONE coffee shop that stays open late, til 3am. and on numerous occassions it has been full and we have had nowhere else to go and had to go to a mates house in town.

I guess at least in Dublin ye have more than one live gig venue of merit! We only have the roisin and your alternative entertainment is the comedy club in cuba which runs once a week.

The museum (if you can even call it that) is very very poor and our consistently bad weather makes any outdoor activities of any kind nearly impossible.

I do go to the gym, and it also offers me a wide range of classes, (yoga, hip hop, spinning etc. ) But one can hardly be expected to do that 7 nights a week....

JC 2K3

I think there's a lot going on if you look for it, but there are a few big obstacles in the way if you actually want to participate in something new:

For a start, it can be intimidating to start something new, to join in a group of people who've been doing it for years. I find you can feel a bit alienated if you're the new person amongst many others who're experienced, especially if you're shy. Now this could be rectified if you had someone else you knew joining too, but another person can be very hard to find. We do have a cultural mentality that isn't very spontaneous or open to trying new things. A lot of the time the only people who participate in a lot of activities are those who happened to start them when they were very young and kept them up.

In general, there's not enough of a push to motivate people to start new activities. What annoys me is all the money spent on that bollocks Drink Aware campaign, which focused on negative aspects of drinking as opposed to a more postive campaign motivating people towards other activities. You don't get people to change their drinking habits by telling them off, however, offering alternatives might make them consider it.

Another problem is how easy drinking is compared to other activities. It requires no commitment, can be done any night of the week and will fill several hours of your time. Compare this to most other activities, in which you'll have to show up at specific times on specific days, and probably won't be able to partake in it for more than 2/3 hours a week.

m5ex9oqjawdg2i

[quote=[Deleted User];59140188]Would you ever stop making things up? The population of Dublin is a lot more than 1 million, and no city in Western Europe has a population of 30 million. :rolleyes:

And what's your point about the minimum wage? Yes, it's high in Ireland, and the cost of living in astronomical. The cinema costs over a tenner for a ticket, bowling costs 30-40 quid an hour. Iceskating is a rip. Where are all these fun, free activities that don't involve doing sports outside in the dark and rain?[/QUOTE]

Typo, the population of madrid is just under 3 THREE million That is 3 times dublins population.

People are whining that there is nothing to do, a list is compiled, that was just off the top off my head. People whine further that they wouldn't be bothered doing any of that, they would be "pist" (It's pissed not pist) off if they had to do it every few weeks.

I see now that the problem lies with you lazy unmotivated moany holes. There's plenty to do, you are just not bothered doing it.

What you want is a list of activities that you can do in your home. Or a list of activities that you don't have to get out of bed to do. Or a list of activities that someone will do it for you instead.

The free, fun activities are out there. I am not going to link for ye lazy sods. It seems a lot of ye have a very underactive immagination.

Cherry Blossom

Cheyenne Rich Gunpoint wrote: »

I see now that the problem lies with you lazy unmotivated moany holes. There's plenty to do, you are just not bothered doing it.
+1 :rolleyes:

What you want is a list of activities that you can do in your home.
There are plenty Try a new recipe once a week, if you can't cook learn! Read if that's your thing, start a book club/chess club whatever floats your boat!

Or a list of activities that you don't have to get out of bed to do. Or a list of activities that someone will do it for you instead.

The free, fun activities are out there.
The entire post about some town in Spain is about festivals, we have no shortage of that type of thing now do we! Plenty of rally's and motor sport related stuff going on round the country (Being a spectator is not Sport btw ) Go for a day at the races, people have already said the cinema. There are comedy nights going on, talent nites, open mic, all sorts. They may be in pubs but that doesn't mean drinking is compulsory! Have meals out, throw dinner parties at home. Have dvd nights!

I am not going to link for ye lazy sods. It seems a lot of ye have a very underactive immagination +1 again :P.

I'm sure you know what sort of stuff you like yourself, just go and do it! I'd suggest dancing but would be afraid of it coming under sport - God forbid you should have to get off your ass! :P

Húrin

Wibbs wrote: »

If you're in Madrid or Barcelona, there is just so so much more to do of a weekend. There are places to go, facilities on hand, people(who wont bore you into an early grave) and an actual public transport system that'll get you there.

Hell I had this not so long ago, with foreign types who wanted to see Dublin. They had four days to kill. More than enough to get a decent taste of the place(inc. the usual trip to Newgrange and Glendalough.). Even then it involved me driving a fair bit and scratching my head as to what to do next that either wouldn't numb them with boredom or cost the earth(and no, Dublinia is a one trick pony). Try and "do" paris or milan or madrid in four days.

PS I agree with Harmoni White Babyhood, the milk and butter is rank in Spain.

Both of Spain's big two cities are bigger than Dublin. There are also numerous gigs here. It is typical of people everywhere, not just Ireland, to be unable to recall the myriad activities available on their doorstep.

Wibbs wrote: »

No offence but you most certainly didn't. I can think of about 10 art galleries of the top of my head with about the same number in Barcelona. Rome? forget about it.

Indeed, I'm sceptical of "doing Madrid in three days". I don't think you can do Dublin in 3 days, and MAdrid is vastly bigger. However I think our own modern art museum really puts that of Barcelona to shame.

However I think the thread is about activities in the place where one lives, so tourist run-arounds are not relevant.

I would agree with you Wibbs though that a lot of things are immorally expensive, such as eating out, etc.

But I would strongly disagree that there's nothing to do, sports-wise, except football, that doesn't cost much. Swimming on the beach is free if you live near the coast. Every few weekends I go off on cycling spins in beautiful areas of Wicklow or Meath. It's not free, but you don't need a Lance Armstrong-type bike to do that.

Xavier made a good list on page 3. I haven't felt bored outside work since I was a teenager, so there must be something going for this place.

Typo, the population of madrid is just under 3 THREE million That is 3 times dublins population.

It depends where you read about Dublin. I've read many, many times that the population of the greater Dublin area is now 1.6 million.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dublin

Also, there are many cities smaller than Dublin with more going on. In Spain for example, there is much more going on than just Madrid. Cities like San Sebastian and Granada have a much smaller population than Dublin.

scorpioishere

Overflow wrote: »

Does anyone agree that there is nothing much to do in Ireland except head to the boozer, live for the weekend and that's about it.

Dont get me wrong i love heading to the boozer for a good night out, but since i have been living abroad i find when i go home the only thing people seem to center they're life around is going out at the weekend.

When i lived in Ireland of course i did this myself, but since moving to Norway and experiencing their culture, it is very different as you can imagine. They do like drink and go out quite regularly but they are also a very active people, part-taking in tons of other activities. For example we go skiing quite often, or head to the local cross country circuit. Go ice skating on frozen lakes. Go mushroom picking :D, have picnics in the mountains, go on cabin trips, camping on the skerries, or in summertime we go out boating a lot, to the beach, or to the local lakes (which there are millions of) for some swimming, among numerous other things.

Now i know its not possible to go skiing in Ireland or skate on frozen lakes, but in all honesty, what other things do you do beside head to the pub. I personally have found a very active life outside of Ireland and am enjoying it very much and would find it very hard to go back to the 'live for the weekend philosophy'. I may be generalizing a bit here i do know there are very active people in Ireland who dont only live for the weekend. I guess its just my group of mates fall into that category.

Rip it apart, say what you want, just an opinion.

I totally agree with you. What do we have in this country to enjoy, nothing. AS you can see, as there are nothing to do, children spends their time sitting besides shops, hanging around shopping centres harassing people while their parents is somewhere else. Whereas in other countries, family go out together, do something together. Its very boring here.

Wibbs

Judgement Day wrote: »

I have to agree with many posters here there's little to do in Ireland except for bloody GAA, drink and keeping out of the rain! An advertising campaign currently being run on RTE for the Heart of England really rams the point home - Castles, Museums, Theatre, Steam Railways, Theme Parks etc.etc...not bloody OPW Interpretative Centres! The one thing Ireland had going for it was its scenery but now even that has been wrecked by one-off houses, windfarms, sprawling towns of identical concrete breeding boxes...

Our main tourist attractions are here due to our colonial legacy - from Dublin Zoo, the National Gallery, Stately Homes, The Royal Hospital - most of what the State created to 'interpret' our heritage over the last 30 years is rubbish - the Corlea Trackway at Longford and the Lismore Experience are classic examples of this. The only 'steam' railway in the country at Blennerville - always a an example of how NOT to do it - has been closed for the last three years. Our 'so-called' National Transport Museum is in a derelict hay barn in Howth.

There is a NO-CAN-DO policy in the Republic of Ireland and anybody seriously interested in doing anything (outside the GAA) gets no support from anybody in authority - The Heritage Council, Failte Ireland or relevant Govt. departments. The system eventually breaks us all and we give up and go away quietly which, of course, is what 'they' want. :mad:

This is why there is nothing do in the Republic of Ireland.

QFT.

H&#250 wrote: »

But I would strongly disagree that there's nothing to do, sports-wise, except football, that doesn't cost much. Swimming on the beach is free if you live near the coast. Every few weekends I go off on cycling spins in beautiful areas of Wicklow or Meath. It's not free, but you don't need a Lance Armstrong-type bike to do that.

Swimming? In the wild? In Ireland? Jeez maybe I need more subcutaneous fat, but there's maybe 2 months of the year the average person could do that without turning blue. Yep there's cycling around wicklow. Nice spot to do it and the scenery is nice and it's relatively close by too.

syklops

Someone mentioned the issue of insurance and that is a big problem here which you do not have in spain, and other countries. There was a group a few years ago that wanted to setup a skate park in Dublin. Now I cant skate but I love watching skate boarding.

The amount of difficulty they ran into regarding insurance meant they had to give up. The insurance frim wanted each member to pay a couple of thousand euros in insurance premiums which no body could afford, and the project died a death. Maybe some of the skaters can give us some insight on how difficult it is to keep the few skate parks we have open.

Even if you get past the insurance, there are a large number of other obstacles in the way. My father has a saying:"If you want to do anything in Ireland, a committee is immediately formed to prevent you".

Another thing is cost. Why is it that bowling costs so much? 40 euro for an hour? WTF? I remember going bowling when I was in secondary school, and it was dirt cheap.

In america, bowling is a one night a week hobby by many. By some its a couple nights a week hobby. If I went bowling 3 times a week for a month, it would cost me two thirds of my rent.

I love shooting and used to go once a month, but couldnt reasonably go more often because it is an expensive sport between ammunition and targets.

I would love to go more often, but I cant.

And yes, if you live in a small town and your not in the GAA you are very cut off.

rossie1977

[quote=[Deleted User];59145000]It depends where you read about Dublin. I've read many, many times that the population of the greater Dublin area is now 1.6 million.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dublin

Also, there are many cities smaller than Dublin with more going on. In Spain for example, there is much more going on than just Madrid. Cities like San Sebastian and Granada have a much smaller population than Dublin.[/QUOTE]

no the population of metro dublin is 1.6 million, big difference, metro dublin would include large towns like dundalk, drogheda, bray, mullingar, kilkenny, carlow

the population of metro New York is 19 million and that includes philadelphia and many other large cities, metro madrid 7 million+ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madrid

Quazzie

rossie1977 wrote: »

no the population of metro dublin is 1.6 million, big difference, metro dublin would include large town like dundalk, drogheda, bray, mullingar, kilkenny, carlow

You do realise that Mullingar, Kilkenny, and Carlow are nowhere near dublin right. Or are you one of the ignorant masses who think there is nothing that exists outside the pale and thus moves the pale to suit?

rossie1977

Quazzie2002 wrote: »

You do realise that Mullingar, Kilkenny, and Carlow are nowhere near dublin right. Or are you one of the ignorant masses who think there is nothing that exists outside the pale and thus moves the pale to suit?

no but i know more about metro areas than many on this site, being a part of a skyscraper and city forum towns don't have to be anywhere near a major city to be in the metro area, i already used philadelphia in the NYC metro area example and its further from NYC than mullingar, kilkenny or carlow are from dublin

read the wiki article posted Harmoni White Babyhood first posted that i quoted

Dublin Area
- City 114.99 km2 (44.4 sq mi)
- Urban 921 km2 (355.6 sq mi)
- Metro 6,980 km2 (2,695 sq mi)

for comparison Leinster total area
19,774km2 (7,634sq mi)

Dublin metro accounts for 36% of all of leinster :eek:

metro areas mean nothing, it does not refer to the city proper, the population of Dublin city proper is about 500k, add in places which really are in the city but not counted and you get the approximate population of Dublin city around 750-800k

But you're not taking a lot of things into account. Dublin is pretty much the ONLY 'real' city in Ireland, so people from Kildare, Meath, Wicklow, can and often do work/study in Dublin. I would count them as part of the 'real population', as places like Johnstown (Kildare) are basically commuter towns. You can't compare this with Philadelphia/NYC as Philadelphia is a city in its own right with plenty of facilities - how many people commute to NYC every day? Very few.

I mean, I'm in Brussels right now and the towns 10-20km away are towns/cities in their own right, with brilliant transport systems, nightlife, facilities etc. This just isn't the case in Ireland.

rossie1977

[quote=[Deleted User];59151886]But you're not taking a lot of things into account. Dublin is pretty much the ONLY 'real' city in Ireland, so people from Kildare, Meath, Wicklow, can and often do work/study in Dublin. I would count them as part of the 'real population', as places like Johnstown (Kildare) are basically commuter towns. You can't compare this with Philadelphia/NYC as Philadelphia is a city in its own right with plenty of facilities - how many people commute to NYC every day? Very few.

I mean, I'm in Brussels right now and the towns 10-20km away are towns/cities in their own right, with brilliant transport systems, nightlife, facilities etc. This just isn't the case in Ireland.[/QUOTE]

lets not get into this real city nonsense again please :rolleyes:, lots of people from my home town in roscommon work/study in galway city, same from towns in mayo. ballinrobe, claremorris, roscommon town, castlerea, ballyhaunis are not part of galway city

you guys are talking like this is a third world country or something, stop with the crap, now we are including nightlife

this is what boring roscommon town, population 5000, in the middle of the arsehole of nowhere has to offer:

two pools, leisure centre, gym, sauna/steam room, fully landscaped town park with wildlife, 18-hole championship golf course, roscommon racecourse, arts centre, cinema, county library, a short 5 minute drive outside of town you will find the some of the best coarse angling in the midlands

i didn't mention anything about gaa or pubs clubs there

Slig

There are 3 reasons that there is nothing to do in Ireland
1-The weather, its very hard to get motivated to do something when its p1ssing rain outside. The summer can be grand but winter is always depressing
2-The cost, Cinema is €9 euro here, thats €18 euro for 2. Add a meal and popcorn and your at €60. I dont drink much so I cant justify spending that kind of money every weekend. An hour in the swimming pool is €10.
3-the Irish love moaning and doing nothing about it. I searched long and hard for a local sailing club. Its 30km away and hasent been open since November but I made the effort. I play tennis but thats also a summer thing. Nothing is going to happen unless you look.

Have to say though, I spent a week in Blanchardstown last year and nearly died of boredom. The only thing you can do there is go to the centre.

Hazys

When I was in college in UCC and living outside the city there was fcuk all to do other than go on the absoute batter on a thursday night in the city. Other choices were cinema or 5 a side soccer but if there was nothing in the cinema, we'd head to d pub instead.

There is a great culture in Ireland for people to do nothing all week but sit on the couch and watch tv and only go out on Fridays and Saturdays to go on the piss and all social life is geared to this culture. Most pubs would be empty mid week and then packed Fri/Sat nights.

I live in Boston at d mo and I'm amazed that every weekday evening all the pubs, coffee shops and restaurants are full of people (despite the recession). Their culture isent based on getting pissed, they'd go to the pub on a tuesday night and have a few beers and thats it. It doesnt take much to have something different to get people out mid week. A lot of pubs do things like games night, Family Guy night. Cinemas also have midnight showings of movies like "Back to the Future". There is a huge variety of easy access things to do that dont require a lot of money or are because Boston is a big city, there is a much greater culture for it.

I honestly dont believe that the majority of irish people really want to do anything different than going on the piss at the weekend. If i was at home and i mentioned going out to dinner or a Family Guy night on sat night instead of a night on the piss to my buddies, i'd be laughed at.

blow69

I honestly dont believe that the majority of irish people really want to do anything different than going on the piss at the weekend. If i was at home and i mentioned going out to dinner or a Family Guy night on sat night instead of a night on the piss to my buddies, i'd be laughed at.

This is very true, although I believe this to be as a result of not having anything else to do in the first place. It's just people's mentality thesedays.

you guys are talking like this is a third world country or something

Ireland is not a third world country. But we have the facilities of one.

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

Hazys wrote: »

I honestly dont believe that the majority of irish people really want to do anything different than going on the piss at the weekend. If i was at home and i mentioned going out to dinner or a Family Guy night on sat night instead of a night on the piss to my buddies, i'd be laughed at.

Abosultely.

Out of interest, those that saw they're svck all to do, what, given a magic wand, would you like to be available that isn't...?

asdasd

Out of interest, those that saw they're svck all to do, what, given a magic wand, would you like to be available that isn't...?

I think they all want to go bowling. That would make Ireland perfect. Theres nothing else to do at night. Although we have do have cinemas. And restaurants.

professore

poisonated wrote: »

I dont think that it is that there is nothing other than drinking but rather that the people you associate with prefer to go out for a drink.Maybe not.Ask them if they want to:
go to the beach
go paintballing (€€€€€)
go to the cinema (€€€) INDOORS
go to a museum (€€€) INDOORS
go to a gig (€€€€€€€)
or just go to a church (€€) INDOORS
all great craic!

See above.