{"id":279055,"date":"2026-01-11T09:13:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-11T09:13:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/279055\/"},"modified":"2026-01-11T09:13:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-11T09:13:10","slug":"even-though-i-was-fit-and-energetic-the-weekends-were-gone-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/279055\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Even though I was fit and energetic the weekends were gone\u2019 \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

After a festive season of excess and indulgence, the concept of dry January<\/a> can hold a certain appeal to people keen to start the new year on a different footing, or even just have an alcohol<\/a> detox of sorts. <\/p>\n

According to recent research carried out by Drinkaware, more than 63 per cent of adults who drink alcohol say they have tried, or would be willing to try, staying off alcohol for a fixed period of time as a moderation tool.<\/p>\n

Karen Coakley (52), from Kerry<\/a>, is one such person. \u201cIt just wasn\u2019t serving me any more\u201d, she explains. \u201cI knew that it was taking more from me than it was giving, in that if I had two glasses of wine I was guaranteed to wake up at 2am. <\/p>\n

\u201cMy heart would be racing and my head would be racing, worrying about things that I knew when I got up in the morning wouldn\u2019t even be an issue.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEven though I was fit and energetic and I was very busy, I just really felt that the weekends were gone,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019d have few drinks on Friday night because you\u2019ve worked hard all week long, and then Saturday was sluggish. You might have a few drinks on Saturday night, and Sunday was sluggish. All of a sudden it\u2019s Monday.\u201d<\/p>\n

Giving up alcohol gave Coakley the gift of time, she explains. \u201cWhen you\u2019re drinking at weekends you only have five days in the week to get everything done. When you stop drinking you actually have a full week\u201d.<\/p>\n

She first tried dry January in 2020 and found that after about 10 days her energy had improved and her sleep was better. She continued abstaining from alcohol until the week Covid hit. <\/p>\n

[\u00a0Dry January: How to give up alcohol more easily, from eating spicy food to avoiding the pubOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

\u201cMy dad ended up going into hospital … my two older sons moved home because the whole world had shut down. There were six of us in the house, my dad was sick and I was like \u2018I can\u2019t cope\u2019, so I went back on the booze.\u201d<\/p>\n

Following a New Year\u2019s Eve party in 2024, she decided to do dry January again and now hasn\u2019t drank alcohol in more than two years. \u201cThe weight does come off. Your skin improves. Your eyes are brighter,\u201d she says of the noticeable benefits.<\/p>\n

Coakley documented her experience on Instagram, where she was asked \u201cdid you have a problem with drink?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the narrative we need to change,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the old Irish thing of: \u2018Ah sure look, she has a problem.\u2019 I call it sober-shaming and I think it\u2019s wrong. I didn\u2019t have a problem. I was your typical middle-lane, grey area, Irish female drinker; Friday night, Saturday night. I might have a glass on a Wednesday if I was cooking a nice dinner … go on holidays and of course you\u2019re on holidays so you have your few drinks or your bottle of wine every night on holidays. Come back from holidays feeling absolutely toxic.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI am living a sober life where I choose not to drink. I don\u2019t have a problem. It\u2019s not that I can\u2019t drink. I choose not to drink\u201d. Coakley says she enjoys nights out and her annual camino far more now as a non-drinker. <\/p>\n

Niall Parfitt (48) from Down has done dry January several times, though he\u2019s not sure he will this year. Typically, he returns to drinking alcohol again after the period is over. <\/p>\n

\"DryDry January can hold a certain appeal to people keen to start the new year on a different footing. Photograph: Tatiana Sviridova\/ Getty Images <\/p>\n

The last time he did dry January he says he didn\u2019t feel any real benefit. <\/p>\n

\u201cMy sleeping patterns weren\u2019t great and I felt sluggish. I honestly felt it\u2019s too short a period to see a massive difference in my wellbeing. However, previous times I\u2019ve felt much better. Better energy levels and better clarity both in and outside of work.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s been times where I\u2019ve done dry January and really got a lot out of it and struggled to go back on to alcohol again.\u201d But when it comes to food, Parfitt finds avoiding alcohol that bit trickier. \u201cA glass of red wine with pasta or spaghetti bolognese … it almost comes hand in hand.\u201d<\/p>\n

He doesn\u2019t think we should restrict the practice to January. \u201cYou could have a dry August or a dry September,\u201d he says, pointing to the fact it\u2019s easy to reach for a beer or glass of wine during the summer months too. <\/p>\n

Giving up alcohol in Ireland can however be viewed suspiciously, Parfitt discovered. He recalls a time he went to his brother\u2019s birthday party. \u201cMy wife said: \u2018No, I\u2019m okay, I\u2019m not drinking. And everybody said: \u2018Well, we know why\u2019.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cAny other country and that wouldn\u2019t have been a problem, but here in Ireland, the fact that you\u2019re not drinking, you\u2019re either on antibiotics or you\u2019re [pregnant]. When we were younger, if you said to somebody you\u2019re not drinking, or even if you only had half a pint, they\u2019d be going: \u2018What\u2019s wrong. Why are you only having half a pint?\u2019 It\u2019s a very cultural thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"NiallNiall Parfitt says he has altered his own typical drinking habits to reflect the demands of raising children <\/p>\n

He\u2019s altered his own typical drinking habits to reflect the demands of raising children. Parfitt says he always thinks of the consequences of having \u2018that extra drink\u2019 since becoming a father. \u201cChildren just do not have time for hangovers or feeling sorry for yourself,\u201d he concedes. <\/p>\n

Edel Devane (49) from Tipperary first tried dry January three years ago. \u201cIt started as dry January and it ended up being a dry year. Parenthood played a role in her decision. She points to Saturday mornings and how children might seek to do something with their parents. The morning after a night involving alcohol can change how parents feel about this,\u201d she explains. <\/p>\n

\u201cEven one or two glasses of wine and you\u2019re just not in the mood for them.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo make all our lives easier I used to start cutting it down to Saturday night … and I\u2019d usually have one or two glasses of wine with a nice dinner. And then Sundays then became too much of a battle.\u201d<\/p>\n

While she is no longer completely teetotal, she can count on one hand the number of drinks she had last year. \u201cIt ended up being four drinks,\u201d she explains. \u201cI don\u2019t miss it at all. You get over it. I like a nice glass of wine. I always did. And I would have always had it with a nice dinner.\u201d Now it no longer holds the same appeal. <\/p>\n

[\u00a0Conor Pope: What if dry January turned into dry forever?Opens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

\"PsychotherapistPsychotherapist Orlagh Reid: ‘It\u2019s only willpower that stops people from drinking for the four weeks.’ Photograph: Emma Higgins Photography <\/p>\n

One of the biggest changes Devane has noticed as a result of her changed drinking habits is that she has more patience with her children now. She didn\u2019t expect dry January to lead to the changes in how she drinks to the extent it has. \u201cI thought I\u2019d keep it on the Saturday night,\u201d she explains. <\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t have the taste for it now\u201d. She says she\u2019d recommend to anyone that they give dry January a try.<\/p>\n

Psychotherapist and addiction counsellor Orlagh Reid says she has \u201cmixed feelings\u201d about dry January. \u201cIt\u2019s very easy to stop drinking after a period of bingeing and excess … and to just stop it for four weeks. It\u2019s a short period of time. So being able to do dry January, some alcoholics, or very heavy drinkers, will actually use that as a way to prove that they actually don\u2019t have a problem with alcohol.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s only willpower that stops people from drinking for the four weeks, it\u2019s not behavioural change,\u201d she continues. \u201cIf you actually backtrack six weeks people will say: \u2018Well, I\u2019m going to give it up for January.\u2019 So they might end up drinking more in December because they know they\u2019re going to give it up.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStopping is healthy. It\u2019s staying stopped that brings in the positive health piece,\u201d she explains.<\/p>\n

In saying this, Reid says there are many benefits to removing alcohol from the diet for four weeks. \u201cMentally, emotionally, physiologically there are lots of benefits. Even in terms of reduced stress, reduced anxiety, improved sleep, reducing fatigue,\u201d she explains. \u201cFor those people who are feeling mentally ready to tackle alcohol use whether it\u2019s mild or moderate, sometimes it\u2019s the kick start that they need to get into that zone.\u201d<\/p>\n

As an addiction counsellor she cautions however, that it can be dangerous for heavy drinkers to stop drinking completely without medical advice. \u201cThere are different types of withdrawals that people can go through and some are extremely serious.\u201d<\/p>\n

Professor Frank Murray, chair of Alcohol Action Ireland and chair of the European Health Alliance on Alcohol, is a liver specialist. He agrees that heavy drinkers need medical supervision when stopping. \u201cPeople have no idea of the harms of alcohol, and that includes stopping precipitously when they\u2019re heavy drinkers, dependent drinkers. They are people who are drinking a bottle of wine in a day, or half a bottle of wine every day,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n

\u201cIreland is a profoundly heavy alcohol consuming country where people don\u2019t realise how heavily they drink and how harmful it is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Murray says \u201canything that restricts people\u2019s alcohol consumption is quite a good thing, even doing it temporarily in January\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"ProfessorProfessor Frank Murray: ‘I do think we should aim for far less alcohol consumption’ <\/p>\n

\u201cFirst of all it may help people reflect on why would you do that anyway … you do it because it\u2019s a toxic substance that causes cancer, liver disease, heart disease, incidents and accidents, and causes about every 14th death in men. And probably is associated with a reduction in life expectancy among men in Ireland of about three years at least … in the average man that drinks alcohol.\u201d<\/p>\n

He explains that people shouldn\u2019t drink every day or binge drink, classified as five or six drinks in two or three hours. <\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the norm in Ireland. Most people in Ireland drink in a way that\u2019s hazardous. That\u2019s placing them at risk\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf people give up alcohol, they reduce their blood pressure. They reduce their weight. Their liver function improves. Their sleep improves. Their mood and anxiety improves … Their cholesterol will improve\u201d.<\/p>\n

The health benefits of giving up alcohol aren\u2019t long term if people return to their previous habits, Murray explains. Giving up alcohol for one month won\u2019t substantially reduce a person\u2019s risk of cancer, \u201cbut that\u2019s not a reason not to do it\u201d, he says. \u201cIt\u2019s potentially a reflective period\u201d, he continues pointing also to the financial savings. <\/p>\n

[\u00a0Dry January: Since giving up alcohol, I\u2019ve developed some strong opinions about itOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

Murray says if alcohol was invented now \u201cwe wouldn\u2019t take it in society\u201d. Beyond health, he points to the burden it places on society and the role it plays in \u201croad traffic accidents. It\u2019s involved in crime. It\u2019s involved in child neglect. It\u2019s involved in domestic violence\u201d.<\/p>\n

Murray isn\u2019t arguing for an alcohol-free society, he clarifies. \u201cBut I do think we should aim for far less alcohol consumption and that alcohol is priced in such a way that the alcohol industry picks up the costs, not the taxpayer and the exchequer,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After a festive season of excess and indulgence, the concept of dry January can hold a certain appeal…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":279056,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[5051,9,10,18,13,14,2215,6,6693,19,17,11,12,15,16,5,7,8,2212],"class_list":{"0":"post-279055","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-alcohol","9":"tag-breaking-news","10":"tag-breakingnews","11":"tag-eire","12":"tag-featured-news","13":"tag-featurednews","14":"tag-for-you","15":"tag-headlines","16":"tag-health-wellness","17":"tag-ie","18":"tag-ireland","19":"tag-latest-news","20":"tag-latestnews","21":"tag-main-news","22":"tag-mainnews","23":"tag-news","24":"tag-top-stories","25":"tag-topstories","26":"tag-weekendreview"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/115875703456327805","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/279055","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=279055"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/279055\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/279056"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=279055"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=279055"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=279055"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}