As someone who is nearly...

...one hundred percent Irish, I read with great interest the book Jaywalking with the Irish. (Seven of my eight great-grandparents were Irish, the eighth being Scottish -- I know: same thing.) 

The book is by the husband of one of my grade school classmates, and it recounts their experience migrating with their three children from Connecticut to the city of Cork. It stirred up a lot of thoughts and emotions in me, not least of which was about the Irish "fondness for the drop." From the book (my emphasis):

The Irish love affair with alcohol, which had seemed like such fun in our early going, was revealing its darker side. One study indicated that the country's citizens had officially topped the Luxembourgians as the top quaffers in the world. Some pundits beat their chests, calling drink "the spiritual disease of the Irish," but mostly everybody laughed, and why wouldn't they with newspaper advertisements featuring twelve twenty-ounce pints lined up in rows above a slogan saying "Live life to the power of Guinness." God knows increasing numbers were doing their best, now that Ireland's former legions of "pioneer" adherents to the Father Mathew message of abstemiousness had largely disappeared. The Irish understandably despise the stereotype of being regarded as a nation riddled with alcoholics, and the fact is the vast majority use the drink as moderately as any other people.

Yeah, right.

...Statistics say that in the last decade the country's per capita consumption of wine has risen by 300 percent, hard cider by 500 percent, and beer by 26 percent, the latter growth sounding modest possibly because it couldn't get much higher. The average intake of the hops, barley, and malt has reached 150 liters for every citizen over fifteen, despite the fact Irish women generally eschew the stuff, and the very young and senior citizens drag down the national statistics. Even the suds-loving Germans manage to swill only an average of 127 liters, although the Czechs still rule at 163 liters of beer per head. In terms of the pure alcohol equivalent, Ireland's per capita intake has risen from five liters in 1960 to 12.3 liters today, double the U.S. rate of 6.6, and well ahead of the boisterous Aussies, who down 7.5 liters.

Now for an old recovered drunk like me, I found this to be more than a little depressing. Growing up, I remember hearing other Irish friends and relatives say on occasion that "If the Irish didn't drink, they'd rule the world." I'd usually nod along with everyone else while ordering another beer.

But, somewhere along the way, I reflected on this and thought, If that's all it would take, then why don't the Irish quit drinking? And it's still a good question.

P. S. I quit about thirty years ago. And while I don't rule the world just yet -- not even close, actually -- I can honestly say that sobriety is a lot better than drunkenness.