Irish Prefer Pub to Church, Survey Says

Reuters | 3-19-02 | n/a

[Temple Owl]

DUBLIN (Reuters) - Going to the pub is a more important part of life in Ireland than attending church, the authors of a survey on social attitudes said Tuesday.

Only 22 percent of people in the Irish Republic view regular church-going as important, compared with 35 percent who said going to the pub at least once a week was a priority, the survey by Mintel Ireland said.

It also indicated that those with the most money to spend were more likely to hand it over for a pint of beer than put it in a church collection plate.

"As you become wealthier, your likelihood of being a regular church-goer decreases," said Mark O'Connell, managing director of Mintel Ireland.

"It seems the higher up the ladder you go, the more difficult it gets to pass through the eye of the needle."

People questioned in British-ruled Northern Ireland were more abstemious, with only 20 percent listing pubs as a priority -- although the number of regular church-goers was not much higher at 23 percent.

The authors of the survey, "Irish Lifestyles: The Rise of the Immoral Majority," said it showed the rapid advance of consumerism in both the Republic -- which witnessed an unprecedented economic boom in the latter half of the 1990s -- and Northern Ireland.

"Owning a flash car and a mobile phone, being a member of a private health club and having a home computer are the new symbols of Irish success on both sides of the border," the report said.

Older people living in rural areas were more likely to attend church than young citydwellers.

"Traditional values of a successful marriage, children, financial security and regular attendance at Sunday worship have all taken a back seat in many households."

The report was based on recent interviews with more than 2,000 people in the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland.

[Temple Owl]

An Irishman who prefers a pub? Hard to believe

[Semper Paratus]

I'd like to business with the idiot that paid for that poll.

[Billy_bob_bob]

I don't know what is funnier, the fact that the poll returned this result, or the fact that they felt the need to ask in the first place.

[gordgekko]

Even Father Ted or Father Jack could have told you that :-) Father Dougal, however, would be too dumb to know.

[mlo]

Makes me proud to be Irish :)

[Caipirabob]

I always say: I'm not Irish but the people who carry me home from the bar are. God Bless 'em.

[Drew68]

Belated Happy St. Patty's Day Ping!

[Grampa Dave]

I hope that they didn't pay a lot of money for this survey!

This survey falls into the same category of surveys to prove that pain hurts!

[Happygal]

Uh-oh, I own a car, a cell phone, a home computer and am a member of a private health club. I'm damned ;-)

[Arthur McGowan]

Once the English were thrown off, suddenly Catholicism doesn't hold so much interest for the Irish. Once the Communists were thrown off, suddenly Catholicism doesn't hold so much interest for the Poles.

It's an ancient story.

[JennysCool]

Yeah, but it's not exactly a flash car ... :)

[Ferris]

One thing is for sure...

You won't find a pub trying to make you feel guilty about anything...

[Mr Ducklips]

It just reinforces what I've heard for years: The difference between an Irish wedding and an Irish funeral?

One drunk.

[irishjuggler]

In this week's issue of The Economist, there's an article about the Catholic Church in Poland. According to the magazine, Polish mass attendance is very high, seminaries are full, and the average age of priests is 20 years younger than in EU countries.

[Happygal]

Yeah, but it's not exactly a flash car ... :)

Hey, in Ireland a hairdryer on wheels is flash! *L*

[CdMGuy]

I wouldn't exactly call the English light drinkers. Have you ever walked around London at pub closing time? The pubs are packed every night, lots of drunks, lots of drunk men and women staggering around the streets and throwing up. You have to watch where you step the next day when walking near a pub. The Irish get the bad press, but the English are just as bad.

[kellynla]

Don't know where you went to school but you better go back and start over. Italy, France, Spain and Portugal just to name a few are all Catholic countries. And there is no such thing as "drunkenness genes."

[droberts]

I thought pubs and churches were one and the same over there.

[Dakmar]

Don't know where you went to school but you better go back and start over.

Give him a break, it's his first day. And hopefully last.