I've managed to survive my first-ever 'Hag Party'. Apparently, that's the result when you combine a 'hen party' and a 'stag party'. A hen party would be the Irish version of a bachelorette party and a stag party would be the bachelor party. I can't say that they differ much from the usual American pre-wedding night out, except that strip clubs in Ireland seem to be a little less accessible so the parties tend to revolve around straight pub crawls.
This seems to lead to one of two things - a very well behaved party or a trip to a far away town. To get an idea of what life in small town Ireland is like, picture Pleasantville or Leave It to Beaver. Everybody knows everybody else. If they don't know you to say hi, they know somebody who does. This leaves little room for the usual debauchery and ridiculousness that accompanies most hen or stag nights. I'm not talking about downright cheating or misbehaving in that way, but the odds of running into your boss or coworkers while you've got a penis straw in your drink or a superhero costume consisting of tights and a cape (after having your drinks spiked with Viagra) are much greater in a small town. And I have seen both scenarios over here! It makes leaving the area look better by them moment.
They actually have packages for hen and stag nights - prearranged weekends on the town with all sorts of perks. Kilkenny is a popular one for Irish crowds, while you see quite a few groups from the UK in Temple Bar (the pub/party part of town) in Dublin. They get quite a lot of 'bang for their buck' in Ireland. The British £ to the € (euro) is a lot like the American $ used to be to the Canadian $.
The Hag Party I was at on Friday was meant to be a work function for one of the ladies in the office, so we kept it local. I think there were probably 25 or 30 of us at one point in the night. The bosses ever-so-generously set up a tab at a great pub to get us sufficiently bubbly, chatty, and itching to dance. I hardly knew anyone starting out the night, since I only started with the company a few weeks ago and have been out on site ever since. Being the small town that it is, it didn't take long to find out one of my co-workers is the son of the guy who helps out with my Gaelic Football team and another lives around the corner from me in Gorey. Instant connections. I've only been in the country a few months - imagine having grown up here.
After running out the tab at the first pub, we worked our way across the street to the local 'nightclub'. I put that in quotation marks because if any of you have ever been to a nightclub in Boston, NYC, or even Albany - you are probably picturing an entirely different scene. From what I can gather, a nightclub over here refers to anyplace with a dancefloor and a DJ. For those of you who went to school in Potsdam, picture Backstreets - for those of you who ever lived or visited Worcester, think Lietrim Pub. Or maybe if you put a DJ in the back of Stoney's... Most of you should get the idea. NOT a nightclub by U.S. means. More of a bar with dancing. Don't get me wrong - they can be a lot of fun. I just remember expecting something a whole lot different when I walked into my first nightclub over here.
The place was PACKED since the only other nightclub in town was shut down the week before due to fire regulations. We still managed a good amount of dancing and drinking into the wee hours of the morning. It's amazing how much you learn about the people you work with when you see them out with members of the opposite sex. Entirely new personalities come out. Guys who are loud and outgoing at work become suddenly shy. The shy guy you've never seen speak becomes Casanova with the ladies in the office. I managed to make it out with minimal drinks spilled on me, no embarrassing drunken moments, and even woke up the next morning hangover free! I'm looking forward to more nights out with work and maybe a few more hen/hag nights! ;-)
This seems to lead to one of two things - a very well behaved party or a trip to a far away town. To get an idea of what life in small town Ireland is like, picture Pleasantville or Leave It to Beaver. Everybody knows everybody else. If they don't know you to say hi, they know somebody who does. This leaves little room for the usual debauchery and ridiculousness that accompanies most hen or stag nights. I'm not talking about downright cheating or misbehaving in that way, but the odds of running into your boss or coworkers while you've got a penis straw in your drink or a superhero costume consisting of tights and a cape (after having your drinks spiked with Viagra) are much greater in a small town. And I have seen both scenarios over here! It makes leaving the area look better by them moment.
They actually have packages for hen and stag nights - prearranged weekends on the town with all sorts of perks. Kilkenny is a popular one for Irish crowds, while you see quite a few groups from the UK in Temple Bar (the pub/party part of town) in Dublin. They get quite a lot of 'bang for their buck' in Ireland. The British £ to the € (euro) is a lot like the American $ used to be to the Canadian $.
The Hag Party I was at on Friday was meant to be a work function for one of the ladies in the office, so we kept it local. I think there were probably 25 or 30 of us at one point in the night. The bosses ever-so-generously set up a tab at a great pub to get us sufficiently bubbly, chatty, and itching to dance. I hardly knew anyone starting out the night, since I only started with the company a few weeks ago and have been out on site ever since. Being the small town that it is, it didn't take long to find out one of my co-workers is the son of the guy who helps out with my Gaelic Football team and another lives around the corner from me in Gorey. Instant connections. I've only been in the country a few months - imagine having grown up here.
After running out the tab at the first pub, we worked our way across the street to the local 'nightclub'. I put that in quotation marks because if any of you have ever been to a nightclub in Boston, NYC, or even Albany - you are probably picturing an entirely different scene. From what I can gather, a nightclub over here refers to anyplace with a dancefloor and a DJ. For those of you who went to school in Potsdam, picture Backstreets - for those of you who ever lived or visited Worcester, think Lietrim Pub. Or maybe if you put a DJ in the back of Stoney's... Most of you should get the idea. NOT a nightclub by U.S. means. More of a bar with dancing. Don't get me wrong - they can be a lot of fun. I just remember expecting something a whole lot different when I walked into my first nightclub over here.
The place was PACKED since the only other nightclub in town was shut down the week before due to fire regulations. We still managed a good amount of dancing and drinking into the wee hours of the morning. It's amazing how much you learn about the people you work with when you see them out with members of the opposite sex. Entirely new personalities come out. Guys who are loud and outgoing at work become suddenly shy. The shy guy you've never seen speak becomes Casanova with the ladies in the office. I managed to make it out with minimal drinks spilled on me, no embarrassing drunken moments, and even woke up the next morning hangover free! I'm looking forward to more nights out with work and maybe a few more hen/hag nights! ;-)
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