Joe Treacy, an accredited counsellor with the Addiction Counsellors of Ireland, warned that people are dicing with death by taking part in the ’tradition’, which has gained huge traction amongst young people over the past decade.
It involves having one drink in a dozen pubs over the course of an afternoon or evening.
And he pleaded with any groups taking part in the 12 Pubs to avoid drinking shots, and to make sure nobody is allowed to wander away by themselves.
“There are two drinking festivals in Ireland now – St Patrick’s Day and Christmas.
“Go to A&E over the next few weeks and you’ll see an awful lot of Christmas jumpers – head injuries, intoxication, domestic violence, fights. The common factor is alcohol.
“Six hundred people self-harmed [died by suicide] last year and no parent relishes the thought of that. Loading young people with cheap alcohol is a recipe for disaster.
“Galway is a waterway city, and that is a very real issue when it comes to self-harm. Not everybody who enters the water intends to take their own life. People become very unsteady when alcohol is involved, and when you have this amount of alcohol on board, you’re in trouble.
“The ’shot’ phenomenon is disturbing when it comes to young people, and the 12 Pubs is another low in drinking. There is a huge danger when you are young and new to the drinking arena, and don’t have an understanding of the pharmacology of alcohol.
For more on this story, see this week’s Galway City Tribune
