"I can't believe it's not Rag Week"

christina_x

squonk wrote: »

What a bunch of feckin eejits. It's great they have so little to be doing for the day.

Have to agree. I'm a final year student - from Donegal - and definitely will not be going out this week - especially tonight! Drunken students especially 1st and 2nd years (who i have a feeling comprise most of the crowd rag week) cannot handle their drink, they get obnoxious and rude and inconsiderate - and make me want to take the drink out of their hand and send them totting off to bed to sober up. I think a week like this is a really good idea in theory, but its eejits who act like tools because its rag week ruin it for everybody else.

/rant

BhoscaCapall

MadYaker wrote: »

Me and a few friends were staggering through Eyre Square at about 3am last night and there was a huge crowd of people outside supermacs singing and shouting. No flares though. I'm still goosed tbh heading in to college bar now.

Careful, that sort of fun is not tolerated on Boards.

vkid

J o e wrote: »

Town looking lively enough last night...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGmwtCffdgg

Looks like hell on earth to me.

GobSh!tes..no matter what age or where they are from,

Pure Sound

Drove through town last night and it seemed fairly orderly, I don't understand everyones problem, its better or at least as well behaved as the races and its only for one week. Those videos look fairly mild considering the amount of people in the area.

Mr_A

I thought some of the people above were getting a bit carried away, but reports are coming in that large areas of Newcastle and Renmore have been reduced to smoking ruins. Mobs of yellow clad students have been flipping over cars and setting fire to the elderly. They're chanting something about wanting Football Special. The end times are upon us. If you have an underground bunker this is the time to use it.

Amik

Gardaí out in force as Galway students gather for 'Donegal Day'

http://www.rte.ie/news/2013/0219/368535-galway-students/

Mr_A

Update: Unruly Northwesterners have hijacked the German Coastguard vessel Seefalke. It is currently lodged upside down in the dome of the cathedral. It is not clear how this happened but there are reports of a strong smell of Buckfast and people singing "Jimmy's Crashing Boats".

In retaliation, the German air force has heavily bombed Bundoran, causing minor improvements.

GalwayGuy2

I thought some of the people above were getting a bit carried away, but reports are coming in that large areas of Newcastle and Renmore have been reduced to smoking ruins. Mobs of yellow clad students have been flipping over cars and setting fire to the elderly. They're chanting something about wanting Football Special. The end times are upon us. If you have an underground bunker this is the time to use it.

'Tis worse when the pensioners protest.

Thing is though that all those "students" that gathered in a city centre pub had just got off a bus in Eyre Square, really doubt they are just students from NUIG or GMIT.

If you search Rag Week on Twitter you'll see that loads are coming/ or now leaving from other counties.

Meh, let us have our fun. Ye older folk definitely act like ejits during race week.

_Puma_

Thing is though that all those "students" that gathered in a city centre pub had just got off a bus in Eyre Square, really doubt they are just students from NUIG or GMIT. Reminds me of race week where instead of wearing Donegal Jerseys young people, that have gathered from all around the country not just Galway, are falling around the place in suits and shirts! Hell that video reminds me of videos from Poznan. I think to just blame this on students is really ignoring the fact that 18-21 year old's in this country don't know how to enjoy alcohol sensibly and are going mad on cheap drink and wrecking the place for the "craic". Ala Oxegen, Sweedish House Mafia gig, Rag week, Race Week etc...

Im all for Rag week if ya have a bit of cop on!

BhoscaCapall

_Puma_ wrote: »

Im all for Rag week if ya have a bit of cop on!

Doesn't sound like you're all for Rag Week at all then!

empacher

Diabhal Beag

They've only gotten smugger since the AI. And that accent pierces your soul after a while.

Mr_A

Local politicians have now started reacting to the situation. Cllr. Pádraig Conneely has condemned council staff, local Gardai and the HSE for failing to control the situation, branding them "a useless shower of %&)(*s". He then called for the army to "rid Galway of the Nordie menace", before condemning the army for not having done so. He then refused to apologise, before expressing regret if his words had unintentionally caused offence.

Senetor Fidelma Healy Eames has denied reports that she has been operating a Buckfast stand without a permit to do so, saying she "meant to apply for a permit but forgot", and is also "very committed to education". She also said the intention had been to distribute pamphlets on the dangers of excessive drinking, but had accidentally followed the wrong plan and sold Buckfast instead.

ciano1

_Puma_ wrote: »

. Ala Oxegen, Sweedish House Mafia gig, Rag week, Race Week etc...

Really? :rolleyes:

squonk

squonk wrote: »

What a bunch of feckin eejits. It's great they have so little to be doing for the day.

Whats wrong with it, they are in college and there is no harm in enjoying the week they have plenty of years ahead of them when they wont be able to do it. You cant beat a day in the pub, I wouldn't be bothered about the donegal day part but for our rag week we were usually on the beer by 10am in the mornings, didn't do anything on us.

ben.schlomo wrote: »

But then you arent 18.

I'm 28 and I still like my all day sessions when I get the chance.

Mr_A

Update: The Galway branch of the Vintners association have released a short statement: "It's grand".

Meanwhile City Council workers are attempting to attach a clamp to the Seefalke. Cllr. Ollie Crowe is outraged, accusing them of targeting church goers.

Garda re-enforcements have arrived and baton charged unruly revellers near the top of the square. However there has been a mix up and they've actually attacked off duty members protesting about prospective cuts to their work conditions. Things briefly threaten to spill over into a full scale riot outside Supermacs before negotiations lead to a cessation of hostilities until Sunday, when double time kicks in.

Furious_George

That vid of eyre square last night doesn't look like they doing any harm, and its better there where very few residents. Looks boring to me, but I'm over 30 and have most of that ****e out of my system so I guess it should look boring.

_Puma_

BhoscaCapall wrote: »

Doesn't sound like you're all for Rag Week at all then!

Time for another Good Idea Bad Idea.

Good Idea:Heading to College bar for a few pints on Tuesday afternoon cause its Rag week ya know! Meet a few mates and go to a nightclub, get chatting to someone of the opposite sex who seems interested in me and been able to convince said person to come back to my place!

Bad Idea: Getting S**tfaced on cheap vodka at 10am running around the centre of the city, puking up my Taco fries in Eyre square in front of people going about their daily business. Trying to help someone who has passed out on the street after consuming a litre of vodka, said person getting hysterical and starts throwing slaps. Heading back to my place at 4am in a drunken stooper and setting the neighbours bin on fire.

The second case is what is happening more and more during Rag Week/Race week. Call me an buzzkill or whatever but I would be ashamed if this is what I got up to during Rag week when I was in college.

_Puma_

_Puma_ wrote: »

Time for another Good Idea Bad Idea.

Good Idea:Heading to College bar for a few pints on Tuesday afternoon cause its Rag week ya know! Meet a few mates and go to a nightclub, get chatting to someone of the opposite sex who seems interested in me and been able to convince said person to come back to my place!

Bad Idea: Getting S**tfaced on cheap vodka at 10am running around the centre of the city, puking up my Taco fries in Eyre square in front of people going about their daily business. Trying to help someone who has passed out on the street after consuming a litre of vodka, said person getting hysterical and starts throwing slaps. Heading back to my place at 4am in a drunken stooper and setting the neighbours bin on fire.

The second case is what is happening more and more during Rag Week/Race week. Call me an buzzkill or whatever but I would be ashamed if this is what I got up to during Rag week when I was in college.

As I said above my first rag week was 9 years ago and we would be up and on the beer in the house by 9 or 10am then into town as the clubs opened in the afternoon in those days, few hours in the club. Then food and either to the pub and back to the house for more drink before going clubbing again for the night.

The morning drinking is one of the best bits if rag week imo, not necessarily wedged into the hole in the wall but doing it somewhere.

_Puma_

Noah Easy Toothpaste wrote: »

As I said above my first rag week was 9 years ago and we would be up and on the beer in the house by 9 or 10am then into town as the clubs opened in the afternoon in those days, few hours in the club. Then food and either to the pub and back to the house for more drink before going clubbing again for the night.

The morning drinking is one of the best bits if rag week imo, not necessarily wedged into the hole in the wall but doing it somewhere.

That's fair enough but 9 years ago there wasn't bus loads of people coming down from Donegal or wherever, getting tanked on cheap vodka in Eyre Square with nowhere to go except the city centre. As I said before most of the recent trouble seems to be coming from young people not going to college in the city and just wrecking the place. This is why, as I see it, the Student Unions have distanced themselves from it cause it has turned into something they cant control with people coming from all over the country. I say keep rag week as a purely college thing confined to the campuses and sponsored clubs that enforce a college id policy for the week. Ya act the prick ya can expect to be hauled in front of the college disciplinary board.

2rkehij30qtza5

_Puma_ wrote: »

That's fair enough but 9 years ago there wasn't bus loads of people coming down from Donegal or wherever, getting tanked on cheap vodka in Eyre Square with nowhere to go except the city centre. As I said before most of the recent trouble seems to be coming from young people not going to college in the city and just wrecking the place. This is why, as I see it, the Student Unions have distanced themselves from it cause it has turned into something they cant control with people coming from all over the country. I say keep rag week as a purely college thing confined to the campuses and sponsored clubs that enforce a college id policy for the week. Ya act the prick ya can expect to be hauled in front of the college disciplinary board.

My first rag week was 15 years ago and back them we just minded our own business and went between the college bar (which used to be in the Quad in then UCG) and the River Inn. House parties were the norm aswell as pub crawls and the Warwick, mystery tours etc.

We did NOT cause trouble unlike the carry-on of the last few years. Yes we used to get hammered but last year in particular I saw some pretty awful goings on by students...harassing people on the streets, firing water-bombs up the streets, fighting etc.

I'll never forget the rucas in Gort na Coiribe where the Fire Service were called to extinguish a bonfire in the middle of the green and they were pelted with glass bottles.

I walked up Shop Street today and it resembled All-Ireland Final Day with the amount of Donegal jerseys. A lot of REALLY drunk students but I didn't see any causing trouble to be honest.

Back in my day (I sound like an oul wan now) we didn't hang around on Shop Street though..we were more likely to be found in houses drinking cans! With a recession and all on I don't know how they have the money to be sitting out in pubs etc...we hadn't a bob back in the day and usually only ventured into town at night!

I'm all for rag week and think it's a bit of fun but only if the students mind their own business, don't interfere negatively with others and don't cause hassle...basically rewind the clock 10+ years and do what was done back then. It's a shame the way it has gone.

Utopia Parkway

My own rag week days were in the late 90's and we used to go on the batter pretty much all day right enough although I seem to remember that we spent most of the days bushing on the grounds up in NUIG as long as the weather allowed it. They used to have bands, comedians, etc on during the day as well. In fact we rarely ventured into town much at all. The Hole in the Wall was still busy back then during rag week but nowhere near as manic as it's gotten in recent years. In fact the River Inn in Newcastle was probably the busiest rag week pub back then. Seems like in the past decade that rag week has spilled out of the college grounds and more towards the centre of town. Obviously bringing drunken students more into contact with your average punters on the street.

_Puma_

_Puma_ wrote: »

That's fair enough but 9 years ago there wasn't bus loads of people coming down from Donegal or wherever, getting tanked on cheap vodka in Eyre Square with nowhere to go except the city centre. As I said before most of the recent trouble seems to be coming from young people not going to college in the city and just wrecking the place. This is why, as I see it, the Student Unions have distanced themselves from it cause it has turned into something they cant control with people coming from all over the country. I say keep rag week as a purely college thing confined to the campuses and sponsored clubs that enforce a college id policy for the week. Ya act the prick ya can expect to be hauled in front of the college disciplinary board.

I agree with what your saying, an awful lot of the trouble is caused by people coming to the city especially for rag week and I think its unfair on lot of the students who for the most part behave themselves and no longer have a proper rag week.

Its also true what you say about drinking around town, we either drank in pubs or in houses. Now we might have a can or two for the walk into town but we wouldn't be hanging around the streets drinking and annoying people going about their business.

There was very little trouble during my rag weeks and yet we had clubs open during the day etc. I think the college id thing would be a good idea but it will never happen now that rag week is no longer official.

Mr_A

More news just in: Donegal Day has reached new levels of carnage as another load of outsiders have jumped on the bandwagon, this time in the form of a boat load of Viking warriors. Currently they're rampaging through the Spanish Quarter and threatening tourists with battle axes. Several are wearing Finn Harps shirts and shouting anti Derry City slogans.

Lacking round towers to escape to, the locals are at a loss as to how to deal with new menace.

Mr_A

Update: Viking Longship now also lodged in the roof of the cathedral. City Council reportedly going into emergency session.

18:20 update: An eerie silence descends as the students pause to watch Home and Away. Officials fear trouble if things go awry for Brax and Natalie.

80s Child

I 'celebrated' rag week from 2002-2007, masters etc. When we first started, The River Inn was the place to be, it was crazy!! All the fixtures and fittings were taken down and the place was essentially gutted before we were let in for the week. The dj started at 10am and by 3pm the crowd had pretty much filtered home for the most part for a bit of grub and a kip before the next assault later that evening.
I think The River Inn contained a lot of the crowd but saying that, by the Thursday we'd venture into town, probably Taffes or the Hole in the Wall for a few, as we lived in town for the most part, but as we were getting a little bit older I suppose The River in lost its appeal. We'd drink in the pubs mostly because a number of my friends and I had jobs at home every weekend and we were quite well paid, so it was no big deal. The big thing, in my humble opinion, is that we largely felt that it was a marathon and not a sprint! Sure, there were days where we'd be steaming at 3pm and have to go home but it would be mostly pints and you'd be 'full' as opposed to be *ankered on a bottle of cheap vodka. From working in the pubs for close to eight years on and off, it's the spirts that do the damage; give me wo lads at 10am drinking pints for the day rather than two lads at six starting on the vods. I know who I'll have trouble with!

L5

Mr_A wrote: »

Update: Viking Longship now also lodged in the roof of the cathedral. City Council reportedly going into emergency session.

Please stop posting this crap. The first time it was mildly humorous. Now it's just irritating.

_Puma_

I'm really not trying to be a hypocrite here cause we nearly all used to go out during rag week if we were a student in Galway! But I honestly don't think it's the majority of Galway students that are causing the problems in recent years. There is just a whole culture of every random person from up the country coming down to Galway for the week cause it's rag week, similar to race week, and going mental on cheap vodka or something. It has gone so far now that unless the Gardai take a no nonsense approach to this and the college's start taking disciplinary action against their students, it will never return to the way it was.

Saying all that I hope this year wont be as bad as recent years but reports from this morning don't have me holding my breath.

howyanow

I was celebrating rag week in the same years(as 80s child) although i only really went out for 2 of them.river inn was always chaos.i think it all went downhill the year that the novena and rag week were on the same week.not a good combo.fun times tho.went about our drinking quietly,didnt do anything stupid.

LoonyLovegood

I'm reading this sitting in a city centre pub while drinking with friends for "rag week". It was packed earlier, people have gone away at the minute, but I've a feeling it's just to house parties until the clubs all open at 10/10:30.

I really hope it doesn't get as bad as last night, I'd like to have a decent night out for once. Just to mention, people are mostly drinking pints, I've seen very few people on spirits (so far)