7 Years 108 days - Old Cunts7 Years 108 days - Old Cunts
I'm Quitting Alcohol
Comedian David Boyle reflects on ageing crowds in Irish pubs while travelling sober from Cork to Dublin via Kilkenny, sharing sharp observations about pub culture and alcohol. The episode mixes humour with candid thoughts on how changing bar demographics affect both drinkers and his own recovery journey.
7:52•31 Aug 2026
Grey Hair, Old Pubs and Staying Sober in Dublin
Episode Overview
- Sobriety can coexist with time in pubs and social spaces without drinking.
- Irish pub culture appears heavily skewed towards older drinkers, with fewer young people present.
- A mix of generations in bars used to create energy and story-sharing that now seems to be fading.
- There is concern expressed that losing pub culture would strip away a key part of Irish identity.
- The podcast approaches alcohol recovery with humour, blunt language and daily real-life updates.
“If Ireland loses its pub culture, we'll have nothing.”
How do people find strength in their journey to sobriety? This short, punchy episode of **I'm Quitting Alcohol** drops you straight into comedian David Boyle’s day as he moves from Cork to Dublin via Kilkenny, all while staying off the booze and keeping his trademark sharp tongue intact. You’ll hear Boyle joke about trying to drink the famous red ale Kilkenny in Kilkenny itself, only to learn from a bartender that “Kilkenny's not really a Kilkenny drink” anymore.
It’s a classic example of how he still orbits drinking culture without actually joining in, using humour to poke at the absurd parts of it rather than glamorise it. The real heart of the episode is his trip to an old Dublin bar with his mate Mark.
Boyle paints a vivid picture of a place “just what I wanted to see, classic bar, no frills,” but packed almost entirely with older drinkers: walking frames, crutches, grey hair and bald heads everywhere. As he puts it, “the balance is way off, way fucking off” – the youthful chaos and energy he remembers from years ago has thinned out, replaced by an ageing crowd holding onto the pub tradition.
He riffs on how pubs used to have a mix of generations, with one or two “old cunts” spinning yarns to younger drinkers, and how that mix gave the bar its spark.
Now, he wonders aloud where the young drinkers have gone and what it means for Ireland’s pub identity: “If Ireland loses its pub culture, we'll have nothing.” For anyone curious about what long-term sobriety looks like in real life – travel, mates, pubs, temptation, and a lot of swearing – this episode offers a fast, honest snapshot. It’s raw, funny, and aimed at people who want straight talking about booze and recovery without lectures.
Ever wondered how someone keeps their sense of humour while quitting alcohol? This is one way.
Do you want to link to this podcast?
Get the buttons here!
More From This Show
The latest episodes from the same podcast.