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Peer pressure be
damned – it really
is possible to have
fun without
alcohol, says
John Costello
A
sneaky swig of beer or
tipple of wine is often
seen as a teenage right of
passage. But with many
students found slumped
on city streets earlier this month
after celebrating their Junior Cert
results, a growing number of teetotal
teens are intent on proving that
while it may not be hip to be square
(despite what Huey Lewis famously
sang in the ’80s) it can actually be
hip to steer clear of beer.
However, with research
highlighting that almost half of all
Irish teenagers have been drunk in
the past 12 months, can it ever be
cool to just say no?
“There is a drink and drug culture
in most places in Ireland that is hard
to escape from,” says Cillian Lambe
(19) from Dundalk. “A lot of people
see drinking as this great thing. But I
cannot see any glamour in drinking
so much that you end up getting sick.
The important thing to remember is
that your friends are not going to
disown you if you say no.”
As a member of the Dundalk
branch of the No Name Club, a youth
movement that organises social
activities, such as discos, that are
free from the pressures associated
with alcohol, Cillian is part of a
network of 50 such clubs throughout
Ireland, which cater for more than
150,000 teenagers.
WEATHER
Why it’s
cool to
be a
teetotal
teen
‘T
he sad truth is that teenagers
who don’t drink are
swimming against the tide,”
says Dr David J Carey, a Dublinbased psychologist who works with
children and adolescents. “Young
people today have a lot more
exposure to alcohol than generations
before. They also have so much
immediate access to drink through
the likes of convenience stores, offlicences and supermarket shelves.”
Given such pressure it is not
surprising that more than 45pc of
teens admit to having drank
alcohol, 25pc say they regularly
binge drink (more than
five drinks in one
sitting), and 30pc
believe it is okay for
teenagers to drink
alcohol to get drunk,
according to a
survey by The Irish
Society for the
Prevention of
Cruelty to
Children.
“It is difficult
for young people
to break away
from the drinking
culture,” says
Cool brew: Cillian Lambe
John Buckley,
is in the No Name Club.
Youth Engagement
Photo by Tom Conachy
Officer with the
CILLIAN LAMBE
AGE
19 (Youngest, one older
brother and sister)
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BAND
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national charity Spun Out. “There is
no getting away from the fact
that there is a strong link
between being Irish
and drinking.”
Yet despite
recent research
highlighting that
the consumption
of alcohol by
teenagers in Ireland
is higher than the
European average,
according to The
European School Survey
Project on Alcohol and
Other Drugs, there are those
willing to be different.
“I did have an
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(Irish Independent)
10 out of 10, obviously!
[Laughs]
alcoholic beverage once at a family
occasion,” says Katie Mulrooney (17),
a student at the Presentation
Secondary School in Kilkenny.
“It was half a glass of wine when I
was 16. But I didn’t like the taste or
think it was a big deal. Young people
often try alcohol because of their
friends, but people need to realise
that drinking does not define who
you are. I know plenty of popular
girls that don’t drink.”
However, while the No Name Club
provides the likes of Cillian and
Katie with an alcohol-free
alternative to the pub, it is not in
essence anti-alcohol.
“I take the odd drink but I don’t
binge,” says Cillian. “So I sometimes
SO, JUST HOW COOL AM I?
would maybe have a cider or two,
but I don’t see the point in having
more than that. When I decide I am
done drinking, I have no problem
switching to mineral water. There is
obviously a lot of peer pressure but
you need to stick to your guns.”
However, while many can falter
under such pressure, the key to a
healthy relationship with drink
stretches back to the cradle.
“A lot of it has to do with family
values,” says Dr Carey. “If children
don’t learn to control their impulses,
there are going to be problems. And
I think the seeds to make this
possible begin as a toddler. Parents
have a large role to play.”
But can this growth in teetotal