One clear memory of attending Croke Park many years ago was the number of men wearing Pioneer pins. It was remarkable. At the time there were close to half a million pioneers in Ireland from a population about half today’s size, when the number of pioneers is about 100,000.

Not too many years before my trip to Croke Park, the late Oliver Flanagan TD was quoted in The Irish Times in 1968, saying that it was his opinion that “the hallmark of every Irish man and woman should be the Pioneer emblem and the Fáinne because in the grand tradition of our faith and fatherland, temperance, good citizenship, love for our country, its language and culture should and must be our aim”.

Despite the fall in visibility of Pioneer pins, alcohol consumption in Ireland, although high, has been declining in recent years. A contributory factor may be the rise in prices of some wines and spirits. Another may have been the Public Health Act, 2018, introduced with all-party agreement.

The act was designed to reduce alcohol consumption and contained a variety of measures, including minimum pricing, the separation of alcohol from other goods for sale in shops, and advertising restrictions. The enforcement of all its provisions aimed to come into effect by 2026.

Government jet leaves Ireland for........

© The Irish Times