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Old me and new me

When I was younger I drank a lot of booze. I drank it at weekends to enjoy life. I drank it during the week to cure the feeling inside me. I drank it with friends to bond and have merriment. I drank so I could chat up women. I drank to get closer to people. I drank so as to confide in people and people to confide in me. I drank to celebrate and I drank when things went bad. I drank and drank and drank.

A lot of people didn’t think I had a problem. Other people were sure that I did. Others thought I had a problem, but that this was an innate part of my personality.

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What does it mean to be Irish these days?

What does it mean to be Irish these days?

I was talking with my wife about the response to my letter to Roy Keane. She was overcome with the passion which people show about the subject of Irish support. I have to admit I knew how we feel about our green culture – we are very proud and very staunch about who and what we are.

She asked me why was it then, that there was not more outcry from such passionate people against the government and the banks?

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A letter to Roy Keane after his reaction to the Spain performance

Dear Roy,

When you left (or were pushed) that famous time in Saipan, a nation divided like nothing seen since the civil war. But time passed and be dad, many is the man, woman and child who has forgiven you for sins you may or may not have committed.

When you dragged that team you captained kicking and screaming all the way to qualification, no one argued that you were truly one of the greats – up there with Mc Grath as possibly the most influential player ever to wear the green

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So Over It

I spend the days like this – In torpor. Torpor is when your brain is glue, your words are mud, your legs feel like slushy plop and your emotions are a bag of second hand sandals. I feel like a mango that has been smuggled down the top of an octogenarian slut, who has no chicken fillets left to fill her off-white brassier. I might as well play bingo in a hall, on my own, with a packet of monster munch

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Who is responsible for our nation of drunks?

 

I want to talk today about the inherent beliefs which exist in the world about the culture of “Irishness” – aka the piss heads of the world. Where did the idea come from that we are all drunkards and great fun on the booze? Where did we get the reputation as being one of the biggest nation of drinkers on this globe of green and blue? Who exactly is to blame for all Irish being born with the idea that an innate part of us is some way biased towards consuming alcohol? Why are there so many pubs associated with Ireland scattered around the world? Are we ourselves to blame? Oh no…. I touched on it last week and I want to blame one nation and one nation only – The English! Now before you take off in a rage with considered ideas which might involve the thoughts that us Irish are responsible for adorable snugs, great atmosphere and delicious porter, hear me out – it is the idea that we are drunks and the like that I’m after, not the actualities which exist right today. Now read on…

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When I worked as a taste tester for Guinness

I had my first taste of beer today in a long, long time. For those of you who don’t know, I run a very busy Irish bar in Bondi. Strange you might think, for one so abstemious to operate forty or fifty hours a week in the capacity of a publican. But that’s what I do nonetheless. A representative came in from a beer company and had a new “Pale Ale” he was offering for sale. He had a sample with him, so I tried it – kind of as simple as that. The beer was crisp and tarty, with a high sour aftertaste that hit the top of your throat. There were hints of hoppy, yeasty fermentation, yet the beer quickly culled this with a sharp dryness that made you think you needed to drink more. There was a fine balance between heavy and light and it got me thinking about my life and career….

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