The Irish pub as a third place : a sociological exploration of people, place and identity

There is considerable interest in alcohol in Irish society, yet minimal sociologcial understanding of its consumption, particularly of the sites where most drinking occurs: the country's 8750 pubs. Despite widespread public discussions on the role of the pub, there is scant social science evidence to better inform debate. Pubs are central to Irish community and are key sites of social interaction. American sociologist Ray Oldenburg has argued that "third places" (neither workplace nor home) are crucial to the maintenance of the community and the enhancement of social capital. According to Oldenburg, the role of the third place in the community is to provide continuity, regularity, a sense of place - all of which conceptually contribute to the construction of the self, the projection of the self within the public sphere, the distribution of social capital and the generation of a collective identity. The pub is the archetypal third place, but Oldenburg is concerned that modern pubs are less able to provide this vital function. Social scientists have suggested that community is in a state of fragmentation and decline due to changes in modes of social interaction and a decrease in shared spaces, resulting in a weakened connection to place. Community without propinquity has been characterised by social alienation, fragmentation and what Oldenburg refers to as the "problem of place" (13). Third places, and thus the Irish pub, have been particularly affected. In order to increase the sociological knowledge of the pub in Ireland, this project critically engages with the pub to assess the importance that public drinking houses have in the everyday. Moreover, this research sets out to investigate the people/place relationship using the pub as an investigative lens and examine the ways in which people shape place, place shapes people and how that relationship is implicated in the construction of irish identities. Furthermore, this is also an articulation of a cultural shift within Ireland and Irish places whose effects are deep and multi-layered. This project aims to explore the development of the contemporary geography of identity as the irish pub as a third place is transformed or disappears from the social landscape.

The Irish Pub: past, present – whither the future?

The purpose of this research is to examine the main economic, legislative, and socio- cultural factors that are currently influencing the pub trade in Ireland and their specific impact on a sample of publicans in both Galway city and county. In approaching this task the author engaged in a comprehensive literature review on the origin, history and evolution of the Irish pub; examined the socio-cultural and economic role of the public house in Ireland and developed a profile of the Irish pub by undertaking a number of semi-structured interviews with pub owners from the area. In doing so, the author obtained the views and opinions of the publicans on the current state of their businesses, the extent to which patterns of trade have changed over recent years, the challenges and factors currently influencing their trade, the actions they believed to be necessary to promote the trade and address perceived difficulties and how they viewed the future of the pub business within the framework of the current regulatory regime. In light of this research, the author identified a number of key findings and put forward a series of recommendations designed to promote the future success and development of the pub trade in Ireland. The research established that public houses are currently operating under a very unfavourable regulatory framework that has resulted in the serious decline of the trade over the last decade. This decline appears to have coincided initially with the introduction of the ban on smoking in the workplace and was exacerbated further by the advent of more severe drink-driving laws, especially mandatory breath testing. Other unfavourable conditions include the high levels of excise duty, value added tax and local authority commercial rates. In addition to these regulatory factors, the research established that a major impediment to the pub trade is the unfair competition from supermarkets and other off-licence retail outlets and especially to the phenomenon of the below-cost selling of alcohol. The recession has also been a major contributory factor to the decline in the trade as also has been the trend towards lifestyle changes and home drinking mirroring the practice in some continental European countries.

Three sociological aspects of economic development

Includes bibliography

The family in its sociological aspects /

Bibliography: p. [135]-137.

Pràctiques d'exclusió als locals nocturns del centre històric de Barcelona. El dret d'admissió com a tècnica de discriminació racista

La investigació se centra en l'ús discriminatori del dret d'admissió en els bars de nit del centre de Barcelona. En concret, el terreny de camp el conformen quatre bars situats en el Raval, un barri que està experimentant un procés d'ennobliment. El treball de camp ha tingut una durada de deu mesos i s¿ha basat fonamentalment en l'observació etnogràfica. L'objectiu principal ha estat constatar sobre el terreny la pràctica efectiva de la discriminació, i com es du a terme, quines són les formes que adopta i les argumentacions en què es basa. La qüestió fonamental que cal respondre és com es duen a terme els protocols d'acceptació o rebuig d¿aquells què pretenen ingressar als bars de nit, a partir de criteris de detecció de persones pertanyents a determinats grups socials considerats indesitjables, moralment contaminants o perillosos. Aquest és el cas dels i les immigrants, especialment els que provenen del Marroc o d'Algèria, als quals molt sovint se'ls impedeix l'entrada perquè són considerats com una font permanent d'ansietat. Això és bàsicament per un prejudici construït envers el que s¿entén popularment com la figura del moro. Molt sovint, els immigrants àrabs són relacionats amb la delinqüència, i això serveix com a pretext perquè es puguin justificar les pràctiques d'exclusió que s'executen envers aquest grup social en nom del dret d'admissió. En definitiva, aquestes pràctiques discriminatòries funcionarien com un mecanisme la missió del qual seria reafirmar la inferioritat moral atribuïda a aquest col·lectiu i garantir que en els espais d'oci nocturn del Raval els i les joves de classe mitjana no estiguin en contacte amb els i les immigrants àrabs. En conseqüència, podem afirmar que l'exercici discriminat del dret d'admissió sembla tenir relació amb el procés d'ennobliment que està experimentant el barri.

Career opportunities in the hotel and restaurant industries.

Mode of access: Internet.

Dickensian inns & taverns.

Mode of access: Internet.

Gay Women's Bar (televised on NBC-TV)

General note: Title and date provided by Bettye Lane.

Lesbians at dance in the Old GAA Building on Wooster Street

General note: Title and date provided by Bettye Lane.

Lesbians at a dance

General note: Title and date provided by Bettye Lane.

Lesbians in a bar in Sheridan Square

General note: Title and date provided by Bettye Lane.

NBC-TV Program on Lesbian lifestyles featuring women's bar called "the Duchess"

General note: Title and date provided by Bettye Lane.

Talde-identifikazioa, barne-taldearekiko faboritismoa eta hautemandako homogeneotasun-maila testuinguru soziopolitiko desberdinetan garatzen ari diren haur eta nerabeengan

Aquest treball presenta una investigació que explora la construcció social de la identitat nacional en 922 nens de 6, 9, 12 i 15 anys d’edat que creixen en diferents contextos socio-polítics i lingüístics. Els resultats mostren diferències en el favoritisme en grups en funció de la identificació subjectiva, però no en percepció d’homogeneïtzació, que no canvia en tots els contextos socio-polítics

Guia temàtica Biblioteca ETSAB: Arquitectura i societat

Postprint (author’s final draft)