Pub Etiquette for the Non-Drinker
 

Pubs seem to be an integral part of Irish life which poses a bit of a problem for me since I don't drink. How does one turn down pints without offending anyone? I am going on a family trip to Ireland this month, and my 65 year-old mother is bound and determined to go on the literary pub crawl. I'm not sure either one of us really knows what a "literary" pub crawl entails. Does this really involve as much drinking as it sounds? By the way, I thought I read somewhere that some pubs are now non-smoking. Is this everywhere or just in Dublin?

Many Thanks.

In my experience you can drink what you want to in a pub. Coffee, tea, fruit juice. I never felt under any compulsion to drink ale or stout.
Many people do; some don't.

The Dublin literary pub crawl is a guided walk with a number of outside stops where the guide tells relevant stories about Irish literary luminaries. Interspersed are pub stops (Brendan Behan drank here). There is no obligation to go into any of the pubs, you can simply wait outside until the tour continues. If you do go inside, there is no obligation to buy a drink, alcoholic or otherwise. In fact, the pubs are generally so crowded that you have to be pretty aggressive just to be able to place an order.

"A drink" means something you drink. It does not have to contain alcohol. Just order what you want . . . or nothing at all. No one will be offended.

There is absolutely no prblem if you do not drink. Many people just drink soft drinks because they are driving etc. To be honest if someone says they don't drink I never push one on them as its their choice. People can't drink for various reasons and it would be rude to push the matter. I have never seen anyone force someone to drink :-).

The pub crawl is fun and you get a little history and literature thrown in. You do stop in pubs but they are relevant to the writers they are talking about.

Pubs are still smoking until the end of March.

Have fun and don't worry have an OJ!

Thanks so much for the replies. I was a little nervous that Grandma was going to come staggering back to the hotel full of culture and good spirits!

FYI: The smoking ban comes into effect here on Monday 29th March :)