My husband, son and I are planning a trip to Ireland this summer. We are all musicians and can't wait to hear the local music. My son is 17, although he stands 6'2" and weighs 200 pounds and will be drinking soft drinks. Will we have any trouble closing the pubs because he is a minor? Or will we be chased off? I imagine the music gets better as the night gets longer and hope to hear the seasoned musicians.
Posted by
Boulder, CO, USA
780 posts
As long as they serve food, he should be able to stay. Plus, they are more lenient in the UK with minors if the parent is present. Minors can even have an alcoholic cider usually, if they are with adults. Not saying he should drink, just saying thats how it is over there. I don't think it will be a problem. I saw what looked like 16 year olds in pubs late without adults even!
Posted by
Bloomington, IL, USA
9369 posts
When we were in Ireland with kids, they were explicitly uninvited to stay in the pubs after 9:00. In your case, though, they probably won't even ask his age. You should be fine.
Posted by
wichita, kansas
484 posts
As a rough estimation the more rural the area the more lenient they are about having minors in pubs. Anyone under 18 is supposed to leave by 9:00 P.M. but if your son appears to be close to the legal age, is with adults, and is not drinking alcohol it should not be a problem. As I am sure the previous poster is aware, the Republic of Ireland is not part of the UK.
Posted by
Atlanta
1358 posts
This topic was on the board not that long ago. You can find the link here. We took my sister's kids to the pub with us in 2009. We weren't in the bar area, so it looks like according to the law, we were okay. They were 16 and 17 at the time.