Good decision in Limerick re Good Friday & Pubs - No religion should have its devotional practices enshrined in secular law! Freedom to practice yes, but not to enforce on those who do not share their faith. I think in time this will come to be seen as a positive step both for people of religious disposition and society at large. We are not children and as mature citizens we do not need the State telling us we can't have a drink in a pub on Good Friday. Those for whom this observance is important might find it all the more meaningful when it is a matter of choice not law and calls on them to witness in the face of the prevailing culture. After all Jesus was counter-cultural so why do Christians want their faith assimilated into the secular order?
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Speaking as a committed Catholic, I think that is one of the most sane and wise things I've heard about this debate ever.
I also think the hoo-haa over not being able to go to the pub on Good Friday or Christmas Day is about much more than just drink - after all, we can drink at home if we want. It is about how limited our social choices are - there's no uproar at coffee shops or the like being closed. Pubs play a huge part in our social culture, even for non-drinkers. We don't have a Cafe Society culture here, more's the pity.
Thanks Maire :) And you make an excellent point re the limited social outlets. My wife is a franchisee with O'Briens Sandwich bars so would welcome a more active Cafe culture ;)
When McDowell proposed café bars, he was drowned in the protests from the publicans' stooges in the Dáil.
Indeed - I remember it well
Perhaps...
Despite not agreeing with the dominance of a particular religious (or perhaps even denominational) control over the licensing arrangements for public houses, we should also spare a thought for those who will have to work the pubs on this day. The licensed trade is one in which employees enjoy some of the most limited rights in terms of holidays - there were only 2 days in a given year where everyone was guaranteed a day off. This is rapidly becoming one. Irrespective of the discarding of a religious orientation over licensing regulations - is it really progressive?
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