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Irish pub quizzes are a welcoming experience

Last update - Wednesday, February 20, 2013, 11:23 By Metro Éireann

New experiences in a foreign country are welcoming for people of all backgrounds, which you’ll find out when you submerge yourself in the local culture. 

New experiences in a foreign country are welcoming for people of all backgrounds, which you’ll find out when you submerge yourself in the local culture. A recent example for me was when I took part in a pub quiz.

Here in Dublin, pub quizzes are common enough to be known by all of locals, but not everyone has participated in these friendly competitions. I’ve been eager to involve myself in anything and everything that Dublin has to offer since I arrived here just a few weeks ago for my studies, so I jumped at the opportunity to join some fellow students at our very own pub quiz at O’Neill’s in the heart of the city.

The premise of a pub quiz is that you compete in small teams in a variety of trivia rounds. Anything from geography to mythology to Irish history is fair game, so your team of three or four people needs to be prepared for anything. The competition is a friendly one, though, and by no means intended to incite any form of serious rivalry.

The setting is arguably the most important aspect of the entire idea; after all, it’s called a ‘pub quiz’ for a reason, and part of the experience is socialising with team-mates and opponents alike with a few pints. These quizzes serve a multitude of purposes – obviously to compete in trivia, as well as to test your knowledge of certain facts, but also to experience a profound aspect of Irish life and culture: the pub as a place that promotes a sense of community.

Sadly, many foreigners misconstrue the popularity of pubs in Ireland as an indication that all Irish people are ‘drunkards’ and would rather be at the bar than at home. But the truth that the pub is genuinely a secondary home to countless Irish people – and not because of the alcohol, but rather the social bonding that takes place there.

Pubs serve as a location where men and women from many different paths of life can come together in order to share their stories and simply generate a community among themselves. The atmosphere is a lively one, often augmented by live music and fascinating stories. And yes, of course, a few pints always allow for some enjoyment.

The group of students in my programme that attended the event certainly witnessed first-hand the idea of such community bonding. Everyone seemed to have a great time coming together for a simple friendly competition, as laughs, drinks and smiles constantly filled the room that had been reserved specifically for us. We all came together in a way that we hadn’t seen before since we got here, because we were all there for the same reason.

The stakes of the quiz were certainly heightened by the fact that the winning team was promised a ‘small cash prize’. If anything, the money could at least cover the cost of the rather pricey pints. My team took the lead after the first of six rounds and we felt confident we could stay ahead of the pack. Surely enough, we distanced ourselves even more during the second round, and eventually went all the way to win the quiz. Our small cash prize turned out to be €40 between my two team-mates and me; we agreed to split the money on drinks the following nights.

Win or lose, everyone agreed that the experience was great fun and we immediately began to campaign for more of the same in future. Even the money prize meant little to me in comparison to the cultural submersion and pure enjoyment that I took out of the quiz. Hopefully you’ll take time to involve yourself in such a fun evening.

 

Brendan O’Shea is an intern at Metro Éireann during his semester abroad in Dublin, during which he is studying Journalism at Dublin Business School.


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