ksucats

My family of 4 is coming to Dublin this summer for 9 days. We are staying at an airbnb in the heart of the city. We decided to do organized day tours rather than renting a car when we go see the sites outside of the city. We are thinking most likely we will do 3 trips. I have found some online that I think would be great, but I hate committing to which day this far in advance. My preference is to wait until we get there and book the day before. My concern is that these trips may sell out. Does anybody have any advice as to whether I should be concerned about that or not?

Also, I know the drinking age is 18. My son will be 16 and I have read somewhere that it is allowed for 16 years olds to have a beer with dinner if they are with their parents. I don't mind letting him order a guinness if it is legal. I just don't want to risk getting in any trouble with the law while over there.

:D!

Children under 18 can drink alcohol in private. A 16-year-old cannot be served alcohol in public nor can they order or purchase it.

ksucats

Ok. So at least we can buy some Guiness and take it back to the room and he can try it.

ricktoronto

You can get Guiness in Wichita, I am sure. Interesting technology in Guinness cans to get the foam right.

ksucats

If we take a day trip to Northern Ireland, he could order a beer there, correct? He is really wanting to just be able to have one legally while in a restaurant to be able to brag to his friends back home.

TribalistMeathead

I don't know about "right," "Better than nothing at all," maybe.

Another option for the OP would be to buy a pint of draught Guinness in the hotel's pub and then bring it up to their room for the 16-year-old to try.

ksucats

Yeah, he definitely wants to try it over there. I am sure we will figure something out. We are staying at an airbnb, so the hotel pub option doesn't exist for us.

TribalistMeathead

No, it looks like you'd have to order and pay for it and then give it to him.

I leave to to actual residents of the ROI/NI to chime in, but I just can't see laws on underage consumption being enforced to the degree they are in the US. I find it hard to believe anything untoward would happen if you ordered him a Guinness in a pub in Dublin and gave it to him to drink, especially if it was ONE pint and he didn't draw attention to himself.

burnsie21

I wouldn't chance that strategy in a Dublin pub. If a 16 year old is spotted with a pint they will soon be removed from the premises and said pint poured away.

ksucats

That wouldn't bother me one bit. What would bother me is if said 16 year old or parent gets arrested or fined.

MoreMilesPlease

For the UK your 16 year old can consume alcohol legally under certain circumstances. This would be fo the UK. Dublin is in a completely different country so this would not apply.

https://www.gov.uk/alcohol-young-people-law

MoreMilesPlease

The drinking age in Republic of Ireland is 18. No exceptions. https://www.citizensinformation.ie/e...d_the_law.html

So if you want your 16 or 17 year old to have a legal drink with dinner you'll need to cross the boarder into the UK.

ksucats

Which includes Northern Ireland if I understand correctly. Is that correct?

ajGoes

Correct. The full name of the other country with territory on the island of Ireland is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

:D!

That's not what the link says. It says what I posted in #2 . Unless your definition of "drinking age" is different from mine.