Cork City the worst EVER for drinking

gimmick

gimmick wrote: »

Hate him. Creep.

ofcork wrote: »

Thats a bit harsh,know the guy one of the most down to earth doormen i ever came across in 20 years going out in cork.

Wouldn't quite be a creep but he is fairly far from being down to Earth

Dermighty

RoverJames wrote: »

It's to engage you in conversation to establish if are you after one too many and also to gauge your reaction. If you are abrupt or gruff in your response then you won't be getting in. They don't actually give a feck where you have been for the night.

I have to laugh when people still get indignant when this question is asked.

It's so straightforward but people think that it's an invasion of their privacy.

I couldn't give a **** where you were all night, but I do need to see how you respond to a simple question...

gimmick wrote: »

I as going into Reardens with the missus once. So the bouncer says

"Lads, I don't want to leave ye in, but I have no reason to stop ye, but rest assured, I will have my eye on ye for the night. Make sure all of your first drink is a glass of water. If I see ye spill so much as a drop, ye are out. Take this as a warning, a yellow card if you will....and have a good night".

I may be wrong, but I doubt that was any time in the last couple of years.

gimmick

^ Hmm, dunno - 2006 maybe? Same guys are still on the door though, laden with attitude.

Though must say they are not as bad in Havannas. I was heading in to meet a few lads on night, and was after a good few. Got the "how many you after", so I replied "couldn't tell ya, was at a work do". Both just laughed and said "at least you didn't say 3 or 4". So maybe honesty is the best policy

Dudess

I feel sorry for people who have to go to Reardens because nearly all their friends want to - and it's understandable, you hardly want to go out on your own. But the place is miserable - it has an attitude to it that it's "better than most other places"...

lecker Hendl wrote: »

I'm sure people will know Stevie Wong.

There's a Facebook page dedicated to him.

JabbaTheHut wrote: »

Simple. Of 100% of the pubs I tried, all, but Costigans gave me greif. We may have inadvertently stumbled upon pubs that we were not the sort age range that suited them to have in their places. But is that what Cork is like? From my experience it is. I stated in the first post that we never had any issue getting into any pubs/clubs/bars anywhere else in the world, never mind Ireland, yet we managed to find 3 places, on a random night out( for us) in Cork, that prompted me to start this thread. Hence, the title.

Probably, there are plenty of pubs there that don't treat possible customers like this in Cork, but I'm just stating our experience. You can call that silly all you want, but I've lived long enough to know the difference

Nah it's just not logical to me to dismiss the drinking establishments of an entire small city on the basis of a handful of pubs there. It's not a "local pride" thing - I'd say the same about anywhere.
Sure, I would agree it seems like more than a coincidence. It would strongly seem all right there's a "culture" between a few pubs in Cork - bouncers knowing each other, "floating" between establishments, etc. But no way is that applicable to all of Cork - and I know for a fact it isn't. You'll get it on Washington Street and its periphery, and in really busy, quite big places like An Bróg and Crane Lane, but you'll tend not to get it elsewhere. I agree that's a lot of pubs, but it's still not all of Cork.

And are people still going on about how much rougher Cork is? Seriously, I've been diplomatic up to now, but wake up! A few easily avoidable fights, a few easily avoidable dodgy characters - the same as anywhere - does not mean a place has become rougher... no matter how much folks like to think it does.

spagboll

Reasons why cork nightlife can be crap

Pubs/clubs close too early
Too much fighting/people looking for fights
General mayhem at 2am
Most clubs are sausage fests
Chart music in most places
Boy races doing laps


That said I'm liking the Bodega and the Pav, few other very nice spots too, Fionnbarras on douglas street, beerhouse, tom barrys

Cork does beer gardens very well and the people are nice, prices are OK

City center needs to be cleaned up, it really isnt safe, its not a night out in cork unless you see a big fight and most worryingly people can get hopped when they are minding their own bussiness

Dudess

Just disagreeing with you, that's all, but the level of danger you describe has not been my personal experience - sure, I see fights, but no worse than expected, and I find it avoidable.
Agreed on the other points though - and I love the places you mention, except the Bodega on weekend nights. Has the "sausage fest" vibe to it also, in my opinion. I found it a great place before it was all changed.

ofcork

I have being going out in cork for 20 years and while i have seen fights it is no worse than any other city and i have never had hassle and walked home many a night when taxis were scarce before deregulation.

Any male who reckons Cork is a rough city would really really want to cop on a bit. Fair enough if ladies think it's rough :pac:

Webmonkey

True. I've moved to Dublin and I can say there is quite a difference.

spagboll

I love Cork, it is rough, I'd say its on par with most English Cities for late night fighting

I remember one night I was walking from the Brog to UCC accomadation on the western road with an American, we saw a fight just outside the brog (unusual I know) and then a fight outside hillbillys, walking past the peace park there were about 5 guys trying to rip down metal fencing - shout and roaring etc, outside havanas there was a guy knocked out on the ground being attended to by the bouncers as an ambulance was trying to make its way through the crowd, then as we walked past the court house there were bunch of bust up looking fellas "gatching" their way back towards reardons for more of the same. We didnt even stop, this was all going on as we past by.

I'm not going to argue this point further, I don't want to talk ****e about the City, infact I wish I was heading out for pints there tonight

tweedledee

Thats weird cause Cork is one of the biggest holes of a city I have ever been to.Its dirty,with tones of homeless winos lurking all over the place.The pubs in Cork are generally awful so I find it really bizarre that the "security" would refuse you.The places you named are UCC student haunts so they only really want students in them.To be honest you didnt really miss out on much by being refused entry into any of these places.
Cork is a pit,most overated places in Europe,its a place that will only be defended by people who never/rarely leave cork.I was born here but will NEVER raise a family here.

spagboll

tweedledee wrote: »

Thats weird cause Cork is one of the biggest holes of a city I have ever been to.Its dirty,with tones of homeless winos lurking all over the place.The pubs in Cork are generally awful so I find it really bizarre that the "security" would refuse you.The places you named are UCC student haunts so they only really want students in them.To be honest you didnt really miss out on much by being refused entry into any of these places.
Cork is a pit,most overated places in Europe,its a place that will only be defended by people who never/rarely leave cork.I was born here but will NEVER raise a family here.

What do we call people like this? Begins with an L

tweedledee

Lost me,Leavers????Lawyers???
U see you one of those people I'm referring to...Santa Ponsa is probably the only place you ever been to,outside of The "Rebel" city.
When somebody brings the obvious flaws of the place to your attention,you get ????????????
Instead of trying to better the place ,you get all defensive.
Par for the course here.

spagboll

tweedledee wrote: »

Lost me,Leavers????Lawyers???
U see you one of those people I'm referring to...Santa Ponsa is probably the only place you ever been to,outside of The "Rebel" city.
When somebody brings the obvious flaws of the place to your attention,you get ????????????
Instead of trying to better the place ,you get all defensive.
Par for the course here.

"Certain flaws are necessary for the whole. It would be strange if old friends lacked certain quirkes"

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

never been to santa ponsa, although i did nearly go there on sixth year holiday, have been travelling the past 4 summers, i love to get away - you know yourself

right, studying on a sat night is depressing enough without entertaining this conversation, and its making me miss home

Sonics2k

tweedledee wrote: »

Thats weird cause Cork is one of the biggest holes of a city I have ever been to.Its dirty,with tones of homeless winos lurking all over the place.The pubs in Cork are generally awful so I find it really bizarre that the "security" would refuse you.The places you named are UCC student haunts so they only really want students in them.To be honest you didnt really miss out on much by being refused entry into any of these places.
Cork is a pit,most overated places in Europe,its a place that will only be defended by people who never/rarely leave cork.I was born here but will NEVER raise a family here.

You think Cork is really that bad?
What parts do you go to that give you this impression?

I see more homeless people on Grafton Street during the day than I do in Cork on a Saturday night. The selection of pubs I go to are actually really fun places, though I admit the toilets are often wrecked, but that's not something independent to here, it happens across the world.

Fair enough you don't like Cork, for years I didn't either, but this City can actually be a lot more fun once you find the places you want to hang out and go with friends.

/offtopic
I linked this thread to friends of mine from across Australia, a few from the U.K. and even a Portugese girl I know, all of whom have come to Cork a few times, usually to go for a few drinks with me.

The general consensus is that Cork has a great social scene, could use better day time stuff to do, and the Brits didn't think Cork was rough at all.

shadowcomplex

Fully agree with the OP, the bouncers on Washington street are **** and thats being kind, stopped from going into o.reardens a few times with only after having 2 or 3 drinks and was stopped from going into the bailey once aswell, sure didnt a bouncer in cork kill a person before

Sonics2k

shadowcomplex wrote: »

Fully agree with the OP, the bouncers on Washington street are **** and thats being kind, stopped from going into o.reardens a few times with only after having 2 or 3 drinks and was stopped from going into the bailey once aswell, sure didnt a bouncer in cork kill a person before

I agree that some of the bars in Cork are bad, as are some of the doormen, but to say the entire city is bad for drinking is just ridiculous.

I can honestly say I have never had a bad night out in Cork because of the barstaff or the doormen, occasionally some fellow drinkers may cause some hassle, but not more than once a year at worst!

IIRC, the Doorman who "killed" someone, it was a complete accident. I believe the man was very drunk, tried to take a swing at the doorman, and was pushed backwards in self-defence. The man died after hitting his head on the ground.

But, it's an incredibly isolated case, has happened world-wide and should not make you think that all doormen are dangerous. It's like saying because an Irishman hospitalized someone while on holiday in Spain, no-one should trust us.

You don't recall correctly, the chap did not die of head injuries but of asphyxiation after being dragged into the doorway, the CCTV also went missing iirc. He did indeed take a swing at a bouncer though. The judicial system records can no doubt be examined by interested parties.

Tony Sopranoe

The doormen are just that, doormen.

Id bet its the fat cats that own these establishments that pass down the instructions to the security personnel to be a cnut for the night e.g. clamp down hard on who gets left in etc.

I could be wrong but i bet if there was more nightclubs etc and more options made available for people to go to so they wouldnt have to go to such a place just cos their friends went there, e.g. clubs had more competition to face, then these ass holes on the door would be much more pleasant and friendly

---

WHY

Because management/owners would tell their doormen to be approachable and friendly and treat the people who go in as customers and not just bodies where the attitude is to let them in if they "pass the interview test" take their money and send them home then.

The nightclubs/pubs have it too easy IMO.

Tony Sopranoe

..

Dudess

tweedledee wrote: »

Its dirty,with tones of homeless winos lurking all over the place.

It's not.

I was born here but will NEVER raise a family here.

Hahaha - melodrama central. What the hell do you think could happen to your family if they were raised here?

tweedledee wrote: »

When somebody brings the obvious flaws of the place to your attention,you get ????????????

Except they're not obvious flaws, they're you focusing on specifics and claiming they're a broad trend, and you stating your opinion as fact. Aesthetically, much of Cork is really pretty - it's disingenuous to say it's overall a sh1t-hole.

Instead of trying to better the place ,you get all defensive.

Of course people are going to be defensive considering the dismissive, aggressive language you use and the wild generalisations you make. It looks like you associate the place with bad experiences, which is of course your right, but it comes across as if you have a personal vendetta against the place, which isn't everyone's experience. I'm not particularly a local pride person, but I don't see anything fair about attacks like yours. I'd say the very same if your tirade was against Dublin, another city centre I know quite well.
A reasonable and supported critique of Cork is of course fair enough though.

Dudess

Kold wrote: »

Cork needs a few more late licences for the busier times of the week. Places get so packed.

Good point. The crowding in some places is just ludicrous - no enjoyment.

JabbaTheHut

Dudess wrote: »

I feel sorry for people who have to go to Reardens because nearly all their friends want to - and it's understandable, you hardly want to go out on your own. But the place is miserable - it has an attitude to it that it's "better than most other places"...

There's a Facebook page dedicated to him.

Nah it's just not logical to me to dismiss the drinking establishments of an entire small city on the basis of a handful of pubs there. It's not a "local pride" thing - I'd say the same about anywhere.
Sure, I would agree it seems like more than a coincidence. It would strongly seem all right there's a "culture" between a few pubs in Cork - bouncers knowing each other, "floating" between establishments, etc. But no way is that applicable to all of Cork - and I know for a fact it isn't. You'll get it on Washington Street and its periphery, and in really busy, quite big places like An Bróg and Crane Lane, but you'll tend not to get it elsewhere. I agree that's a lot of pubs, but it's still not all of Cork.

And are people still going on about how much rougher Cork is? Seriously, I've been diplomatic up to now, but wake up! A few easily avoidable fights, a few easily avoidable dodgy characters - the same as anywhere - does not mean a place has become rougher... no matter how much folks like to think it does.

Amm.........Yep. Logical or not, that's my experience of Cork, when it came to a night out. I listed cities all over the world that we've been in, and never got the trouble like we did in Cork. You can talk about all pubs in a small city all you want, but placed against the rest of the world where we did drink in, it ranked as the worst place for hassle. Not street hassle. But bouncer hassle.

Dudess

Fully understood, but my own view is that it doesn't justify:

JabbaTheHut wrote: »

I have no desire to ever go out in that city again.

Like, if I went to Belfast and had the same experience as yourself, yeah, I'd feel there was possibly a culture of it all right between a number of pubs in fairly close proximity... but I wouldn't decide therefore to assume that anywhere at all in Belfast is gonna be like that.

120_Minutes

spagboll wrote: »

Fionnbarras on douglas street

I've just moved to cork and was brought there on Saturday afternoon last, spent the whole day catching up with an old friend in the beer garden, it was exactly the type of pub I like, loved it and wil be going back.

Webmonkey

120_Minutes wrote: »

I've just moved to cork and was brought there on Saturday afternoon last, spent the whole day catching up with an old friend in the beer garden, it was exactly the type of pub I like, loved it and wil be going back.

Yeah Fionnbarras is lovely alright.

FTA69

The doormen are just that, doormen.

Id bet its the fat cats that own these establishments that pass down the instructions to the security personnel to be a cnut for the night e.g. clamp down hard on who gets left in etc.

At last; eight pages into a thread and someone finally gets it.

I work in a number of establishments in town and the fact is that doormen merely implement a policy that has been formulated by the owners and the management. For instance if the proprieter wants an older crowd on his premises he will instruct the doormen only to admit those over 21 or 23 and will often have a sign displayed to that effect.

In a similar vein the owner will also decide what sort of venue he wants, whether it's going be a hard-drinking cattle mart, chilled venue, older crowd, younger crowd, upper class crowd, trendy crowd, working class crowd, dance music crowd, heavy metal music crowd etc. The above are deliberate niches in the pub trade that proprieters try and carve out. In other words the publican is selling more than a place to buy drink, but a "scene" in which to drink as well.

To that effect he'll instruct the doorstaff to try and keep the clientele within that sphere. An example of this would be not admitting people the owner will deem to stand out, dilute the scene he's going for or behave in a manner that he feel will alienate his target customer base. An example of this would be not permitting a group of six 20-year-old males into a late bar aimed at people in their late-20s/early 30s because of the high probability they will be loud and/or boistrous and the older crowd will react negatively to sharing the space with such people. This can also be applied to how one dresses or looks, for instance "blade 3/blade 0" haircuts and gaudy jewellery on an individual may well intimidate a trendy or wealthy or alternative or female based clientele and as such the owner won't want them in his venue. Personality really doesn't come into it; the doorman is only doing what he's told and implementing a policy constructed by his employer.

This notion that bouncers are single-handedly taking it upon themselves to look down on people, or give them a hard time is a short-sighted one to be honest. The reality is that the bar and club trade is but another extension of wider questions of discrimination and snobbery within society. It isn't simply down to the publican either though, but the people who attend clubs and pubs in general; many of whom will react negatively to people they don't have much in common with culturally or socially. For instance some will look down on another because they are dressed like a goth, others will deem anyone with a shaved head a "scumbag", others will detest those they think are "posh" etc etc etc. This is the real dynamic at work in many aspects of the trade unfortunately, and bouncers are as caught up in that as anyone else.

FTA69

On another note, it is also worth mentioning that the job is potentially a demanding and difficult one; and I've seen plenty of nasty sh*t in my time doing it. Comments such as "retarded Cork bouncer", "knuckleheads" etc reek of snobbery and exclusiveness; furthermore they unfairly generalise a large number of decent and hard-working individuals.

If a doorman engages you in conversation and asks you a few questions it's simply to ascertain your level of intoxication. When you're working in city-centre nightspots you're dealing with an unknown and anonymous clientele who for all you know could have been on the sauce for eight solid hours before arriving on your door at half eleven. Again, as I stated above, it isn't personal and to be blunt, the doorman couldn't give a f*ck who you are or where you've been for the night. But they do have a responsibility to make sure that those entering the premisis are somewhat able to hold their sh*t together; if someone walks in and subsequently passes out on the floor or falls down the stairs or cuts themselves or catches their finger in a door or pukes on the bar then often we'll get the blame for it. That and such carry-on is entirely negative. Unfortunately the only way to gauge someone's condition is often to talk to them, don't be surprised that if you react to this with hostility that you'll get it back in return.

That having been said some doorstaff are often inept at this and rub people up the wrong way, maybe out of a lack of social skills maybe for another reason. But again, it usually isn't personal. Doormen pray for a quiet night and a bit of banter. Nobody goes to work hoping to be rowing with someone on the front door. Similarly, some people themselves have to take responsibility for their own actions and not have a sense of entitlement. It isn't your God-given right to drink 10 pints, get p*ssed and walk into a licensed premisis, or stay for an hour after last call with a full pint and angrily abuse the staff when they ask you to finish up. Many people will get in confrontations based on the above, and the next morning automatically assume it was the dastardly Cork bouncers at fault and not their own boozed-up childish behaviour.

Show Time

They do a lovely Murphy's in the Fob&Gill.

IrishEyes19

tweedledee wrote: »

Lost me,Leavers????Lawyers???
U see you one of those people I'm referring to...Santa Ponsa is probably the only place you ever been to,outside of The "Rebel" city.
When somebody brings the obvious flaws of the place to your attention,you get ????????????
Instead of trying to better the place ,you get all defensive.
Par for the course here.

Not from Cork originally, studied here and decided to stay here. Been here going on 4 years now and have to say it's not the hell hole you've described, this is from an outsider's perspective. Clubs and bars are grand, wouldnt describe it as terribly rough, so far havent been attacked

and the little spiel you gave there about Santa Ponsa....well that's just a little arrogant don't you think?? :rolleyes:
Fair enough your views on Cork are your own, but leave people to their own if they want to defend their home city, that's their own views on it. I'd do the same.