Rónán Mullen (Independent) | Oireachtas source

The canny drinks people, who want to sell on draft beer and not just in cans, see an opportunity here. They see an opportunity to present their case, which is a really crass, commercial case, in terms that will appeal to many people in the media and so on. The argument is nonsense. It was never about religion. It might have been inspired by that, but if the ban on drink on Good Friday is really about religion, then how come butchers' shops have never been closed on that day? There has never been a problem with the sale of meat on Good Friday. The reason was to avoid people being drunk and disorderly on a day that was very solemn for many people. The reason it is worth continuing, despite the fact that many people might not have a religious investment on the day, is that we have a national drink problem, which despite lots of posturing by politicians - to use Senator Buttimer's word - is never seriously and sincerely addressed.

We use Ash Wednesday at the beginning of Lent to encourage people to give up smoking. Everybody gets on board, even the irreligious, and good luck to them all. In the same way, instead of being petty and childish about this and scratching this anti-religious itch that seems to bother so many people, who perhaps need some betnovate, we could actually decide that regardless of whether one believes the Christian thing or believe that Jesus Christ was an interesting or inspiring historical figure, or even if one has no truck with any of that, the Good Friday ban is actually useful. We could use this as a public education day, a day when we encourage lots of social, sporting and other activities free of alcohol. In other words, we could turn it into a day of national reflection on our drink problem and how we are going to deal with it, if we want. I am not going to get my knickers in a twist over this; no one needs to do so. The aggressive secularists, however, to use Bertie Ahern's famous phrase, should really grow up and allow some of these traditions to have a modern usage, even if the country has changed in many ways and many people do not buy into the inspiring idea that lead to the tradition. It is enlightened modernism rather than a kind of reactionary modernism.I therefore appeal in conclusion, having heard the elegant contribution of Senator Michelle Mulherin, and with due regard to my friend and colleague, Senator Billy Lawless, who is absolutely right to bring forward a Bill that he believes in, and to Senator Joe O'Reilly, who I did not hear, that it would be a good idea if the parties allowed their members a free vote on this. This is essentially an idea about culture and the direction of our society.