Ireland Second-Guessing ‘Guinness Holiday’ After Years Of Hungover, Hospitalized, Fightin’ Irish
Ireland is starting to re-think an unofficial holiday created by Guinness called “Arthur’s Day” which critics say encourages drinking. Indeed, officials seem to be coming to grips with what they say is a “deeply ingrained alcohol problem” in Ireland. The first step to recovery is admittance.
“Arthur’s Day” commemorates the 18th century founder of the Irish stout beer. The day hosts musical performances in 815 pubs across the country in addition to several worldwide events.
The unofficial holiday began in 2009 partially in effort to save the struggling pub economy, believe it or not.
But the attempt at economic relief seems to have backfired. This year, officials are putting defensive measures in place and critics of the holiday are louder than ever. They say that hungover workers cost Ireland $5 billion annually, and that the country leads Europe in liver disease, late-night vandalism, and violence in emergency rooms. They say, why give the Irish another reason to celebrate this?
“They shouldn’t call it Arthur’s Day. They should call it Vomit Day,” said one shop owner who claims to hose down her sidewalk every weekend.
All sides seem to agree that Ireland has a bit of a drinking problem, reports the SF Gate. Government statistics show that Irish households spent 7.7 percent of their money on booze, double what they spent on clothing. They also note that women are drinking hard liquor in increasing number.
“Diageo has invented Arthur’s Day as a pseudo-national holiday for the purposes of marketing its products, especially to young people, thereby stimulating greater consumption of alcohol,” opined Alex White, the government official in charge of policy on alcohol and drugs.
The opposition notes that Diageo, which manufactures Guinness, isn’t forcing alcohol down anyone’s throat. According to the New York Times, an executive said that they’d continue Arthur’s Day so long as the public supported it.
Ireland’s Cabinet is considering minimum price controls on alcoholic beverages and restrictions on advertising.
[Image: Wikimedia Commons]
