NurPhoto via Getty ImagesJack loves a drink and a typical night out will probably involve a few pints in his local area.
“It’s very easy, if you only have three pints,” the 29-year-old says. “A heavy chestnut would probably be six pints or more.”
Jack grew up in County Galway and says young people often start drinking at the age of 14 or 15, “usually in a field with cans of terrible cider”.
“And when you turned 17, your father took you to a pub and bought you a pint of Guinness, and that’s where you started drinking.”
Ireland has a complex relationship with alcohol, with many people seeing drinking and socializing as inextricably linked, part of the social fabric of everyday life.
Pubs tend to be the center of a community, often with live music, and many traditional songs celebrate or talk about how too much live music can be harmful. Major brands such as Guinness and Jameson are major export products.
Since 2020, supermarkets and street shops across the country have been forced to erect physical barriers between sections selling alcoholic drinks and non-alcoholic products, with some alcohol bottles and cans now carrying some of the strongest warning labels anywhere in the world.
First signed into law in Ireland in 2023, the newly labeled products – which say drinking causes liver disease and is linked to fatal cancer – are already being sold in pubs and supermarkets across the country.
But following criticism from public health advocates, the Irish government delayed introducing the mandate until 2028, citing uncertainty over global trade. Some believe this is the result of lobbying by the beverage industry.
Industry body Drinks Ireland said it hoped the Irish government would give health warning labels some breathing room and believed there should be agreement at EU level.
When Jack moved to Dublin in 2015 to study journalism, he really got to know the capital’s nightlife.
“Dublin has always been a spontaneous drinking place, so it’s a good place and that’s why it’s famous,” he says. “It’s very pub-centric and there’s a lot of alcohol.”
Jack’s weekend nights out usually start with pre-drinks at someone’s house. Maybe he and three friends would share a tonic and a bottle of gin, then go to a club and get a shot.
But Jack, who works in advertising, says he knows his limits and feels healthy, despite occasionally drinking a fair amount of alcohol.
“I’m a pretty fit guy. I ran a marathon a year ago,” he says. “I know my limits. I think it’s okay when it comes to your health as long as you know what your limits are.”
Three-quarters of the population here drinks alcohol, and celebrations from birthdays to weddings often involve alcohol.
Figures from the Drinks Industry Group of Ireland (DIGI) show consumption has fallen by around a third over the past 25 years.
Young people today, on average, start drinking at age 17, two years older than the average 20 years ago. But once they start, their consumption and binge drinking are among the highest in Europe.
A report by public health advocacy group Alcohol Action Ireland found that alcohol consumption among 15-24 year-olds increased from 66% in 2018 to 75% in 2024, with two in three 15-24 year-olds binge drinking on a regular basis.
Campaigners believe Ireland’s alcohol warning labels are having a progressive impact. But after seeing the label, 23-year-old Amanda wasn’t convinced.
“You look at it and think, ‘Oh, I just had one. Should I have another?’”
Amanda doesn’t think people will pay much attention to health warnings and thinks it may even make them want to drink more.
“I don’t think they care,” she says.
When out on a night out in Dublin, Amanda says she usually limits her drinks to a maximum of three drinks.
“I like to be in control of what I do when I’m out,” she says. “I don’t drink much.”
She is mindful of how young people are perceived on social media, which affects their drinking choices.
“I don’t like being photographed alone with a glass of wine or Guinness,” she says. “I don’t want to be in a compromising position, and I don’t want people to have a negative image.”
Sean, 21, lives in the capital and loves hanging out with friends. Some people drink and some don’t.
Unlike other parts of Europe, Sean says if you want to socialize in the evening, here you don’t have many options other than going to the pub.
“After a certain time, there’s not much to do in Dublin,” says Sean. “The city closes down around 6 or 7 o’clock. Sometimes you think, ‘I don’t feel like having a beer, but I want to sit somewhere and meet my friends.’ So I have to buy a beer.”
He’s also seen alcohol warning labels, but isn’t sure if that will make him quit drinking.
“Everyone knows it’s bad for you, but we do it anyway,” he says.
Sean’s friend Mark added that cigarette warning labels are “much more graphic”.
Ireland has led the way in restricting smoking, and since 2004 smoking has been banned in workplaces, restaurants and bars.
Even before the new warning labels were introduced, some Irish young people in their 20s thought it was better not to drink.
Mark rarely drinks alcohol. “One for my birthday and one for Christmas,” he says. That’s partly because alcohol is expensive and it’s cheaper to choose something else.
“I don’t really like the taste,” the 21-year-old said. “Guinness would be my go-to, but so is the price. I could save a lot of money just by buying Club Orange.”
Helen is 27 years old and drank alcohol regularly as a child. Although she hasn’t completely quit drinking, like Mark, she says she can live without it for the most part.
“The last time I had a drink was in February.” Helen said. “I’m kind of sober now, but I don’t think about it that way because I might or might not drink again.”
Helen’s friend Sam (16-17 years old) started drinking and took it a step further.
“It was kind of fun to go to college and drink,” said Sam, now 27. “One day I realized it was too much. My father said to me, ‘What are you doing with your life? You really need to get it together.'”
In 2021, Sam quit alcohol completely after signing up for a year-long beer-free course. He hasn’t drank alcohol at all for three years, and has given up playing concertos at bars because drinking at company dinners has become so ingrained in him. When he goes to a bar, he chooses non-alcoholic drinks.
But he says that sometimes it seems difficult for people to accept that he is absolute.
“There’s this weird person you meet and you tell them you don’t drink and they look at you out of the corner of their eye.”
Unlike Sam, Jack does not like non-alcoholic drinks and thinks they are “a waste of time because they cost the same as a pint”.
I consider quitting drinking, but the decision in my heart doesn’t last long.
“Honestly, it’s very difficult to try and start a sober journey in Ireland because it’s so intrinsically intertwined with our culture,” says Jack.
“I always toy with the idea of getting completely sober, but I immediately dissuade (myself) and have a pint.”
Bloomberg via Getty ImagesThe BBC asked the Irish government why it delayed the mandatory introduction of new alcohol warning labels until 2028. The BBC said the decision to postpone was taken after concerns were raised about the impact of the measure on the current global trading environment.
