Nope.

OK, no worries, Its easy to get confused what people mean because you can't hear someones tone of voice on a discussion board which is usually what lets you know if people are being sarcastic. I wasn't mocking you in either post, amen literally means "I agree" or "so be it", I was just wholeheartedly agreeing with you because its good to put stuff into perspective. Bar closing times are annoying but as you said there are far more important things in life.

I love drinking. I've never been in a fight. The only person who ever picked a fight with me was Damien Rice: he was about eight years old at the time. I hope this clears everythig up.

how the gardai think a universal closing time will improve the kind of acolhol-related problems that exist in dublin, cork etc is beyond me. do they think that people suddenly start drinking insane amounts after 1.30am? do they think it's a good idea to force everybody in the country who's out drinking onto the streets at the same time at the end of the night? as an attempt to solve a serious problem, it's a joke. what about off-licences selling drink to kids? what about drinks companies marketing alcohol products that look and taste like soft-drinks? what pubs/clubs selling drink to people who have clearly drunk too much already? why are the real questions not being addressed? like why is it that so many people feel the need to get so drunk so often? what does that say about our society? why are kids told to stay away from drink until they are 18, then suddenly let loose on the pubs/clubs when they reach that age as if being 18 implies some innate understanding of how to handle drink? and why have a legal drinking age of 18 when it clearly isn't working? surely it'd be better to introduce teenagers to alcohol at a younger age in a more controlled way? let the parents decide, let teenagers drink at home, in a more controlled environment, where they can learn for themselves how to drink responsibly. and in the meantime, if we continue to make the pub the centre of our socialising world, at least make some effort to give u-18's something to do while their waiting to turn 18 - combine that with a crackdown on offlicences selling to underage kids and we might actually see a change for the better, at least with underage drinking.