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20th December 2016
12:10am GMT
It’s become pretty fashionable to hate on 12 Pubs over the last couple of years. And, to be fair, you’d have to understand why.
Since they hit the mainstream in and around the beginning of the decade, they’ve become messier and messier – evolving (or regressing) to incorporate intricate rules, dangerous forefeits and levels of drunkenness that have resulted in outright bans on Christmas jumpers.
But you know what? That’s a real bloody shame. Because on paper, 12 Pubs is a pretty marvellous idea.
Dublin looks and feels utterly phenomenal at Christmas – we all know that. It’s quite impossible not to be swept up in its magic as you take a walk down an illuminated Grafton Street or Henry Street, or settle in for a pint under the fairy lights of the Hairy Lemon.
We tend to shake our heads at the booze-fueled St Patrick’s Day, while praising the Germans for the cultural richness of Oktoberfest.
And here we have a fantastic way to get out and see it, experience it, live it, traverse it. While we all love the idea of settling into a snug and nattering away to our friends for a few hours, 12 Pubs affords us the chance to mix and mingle; to take advantage of the feelgood festive spirit, and to meet new people – not just sit sedentarily in a corner growing slowly sozzled.
That’s what socialising is supposed to be all about, after all.
So should we be so quick to condemn something just because it’s built around alcohol? After all, there’s an element of double standards at play here – we tend to shake our heads at the booze-fueled St Patrick’s Day, while praising the Germans for the cultural richness of Oktoberfest.
Pubs NOT allowing 12 pubs of Christmas. pic.twitter.com/OcpVS69QF3
— Publin.ie (@publinie) December 7, 2015
Of course, that’s the entire point. It’s not the concept that’s the problem; it’s us.
12 Pubs – in its current state – is not worth commending. It’s a mess, facilitating some of the ugliest parts of our boozy culture and turning what should be a festive paradise into a Christmas cesspit.
But if we took a step back and treated it, and ourselves, with a bit more respect, then maybe this wouldn’t be the case. If we stopped forcing people to drink shots at every second pub, or pressuring the person who’s been smart enough to swap out the occasional pint for a glass of water – or even a half-pint – then we might actually be able to turn this into a cracking positive.
It seems a bit unlikely, given our overarching attitude towards booze in this country. But it's worth a shot, or 12.
