You don’t listen. We are a nation of drinkers. This is a fact. Some people do not drink. This is also a fact. Being a pompus holier than thou about drinking gets us NOWHERE.

The church that you originally aspired to praising raped and murdered its way through the Irish population. Is it any wonder we don’t go to mass??

At least I’m grateful that you two lads have laid the myth of Irish contentiousness to rest…

I wasn’t being superior about my not drinking. I was merely distancing myself from your statement which was “We are drunks”. I wanted it to be known that I am not a drunk. I am sorry that my lack of drinking is an annoyance to you. Perhaps I should take up drinking so as to be “at one” with my fellow countrymen, and live up to the stereotype.

However, I do apologise profusely for my apparant misuse of commas. I realise now that the misuse of commas is an evil that is almost as dangerous to the world as this alcohol of which we speak. I will immediately sign up for “Bad Grammer-users Anomynous”. I understand the first step in the recovery programme is to start using semi-colons, then you move on to colons.

A lot of people do not drink but instead of being sanctimonious and a snob please do something about the rest that are addicted to alcohol. Stop supporting GAA and its Guinness sponsored games. Stop going to the Jameson Grand National. Because you don’t drink but attend or support alcohol sponsored sports or events makes you part of the problem by making it acceptable to be drunk.

We means collective. We the Irish people have a problem with alcohol. We deny this. It will continue until we stop denying it. Drinkers and “non drinkers” alike.

I have pride. Don’t you start pushing your crap about pride onto me. I have national pride but I am not in denial of the mess and mindless drinking that has overthrown our national day.

I was in the pub last night with friends from outside Ireland. I had a few beers. A few. Not a lot. A few. It is my right to go out and enjoy myself occasionally. Within an hour of getting off the plane they had seen people sick on the street and a fight.

Denying we have a collective problem with alcohol is naive. Being a snob about plastic hammers and what you think is tacky doesn’t go any way towards changing the image. If anything it helps perpetuate it because NOTHING is done apart from sniping and sneering.

Wake up. Do something. Stop whinging and moaning.

And, learn, to, use, commas, properly. Why do all the cranks have such poor grammatical skills?

And have some pride, will you man.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6451019.stm

We are drunks. We need to deal with it. Hiding in the church is getting old. Get rid of the church, get rid of the repression and nonsense and maybe the people will find something else to do.

Okay now I’m done.

And I had a great day, thanks. Spent the afternoon at a street festival in the rain with good company and one of the few Irish girls who does actually have red hair and looks cute.

While the rest of the world are waving plastic elves in the air and painting bits of their bodies green, back here in Ireland many people (not myself, admittedly, but I respect them) are in fact going to mass in memory of Saint Patrick, who had a huge effect on the lives and culture of the country.

Does absolutely everything in the world have to be turned into a joke or a cute picture?

Of course, you’re right – except for you forgot to mention the trivial detail that that one tiny island, which had a civilization before your ancestors had learned to stop bashing each other with rocks, has produced a absurdly disproportionate number of the greatest and most influencial people in history – not to mention some of the most beautiful poetry, music and women…

No, nothing really notable.

Oh me god, a pun !