Dublin Women Create Sober Social Group To Organise Alcohol-Free Meet-Ups

Sobriety can often feel like a lonely path, but you would be surprised how many people out there abstain from drinking alcohol. In fact, according to the 2019–20 Irish National Drug and Alcohol Survey, one-quarter of respondents (25.7%) had not consumed alcohol in the 12 months.

A new Instagram page which creates a space for women, non-binary people and the LGBTQ+ community who are sober, sober-curious or want to drink less alcohol and run alcohol-free events has shown the appeal for people to connect.

‘Babes Without Beers’ first posted on the social media app in November but has flourished since then. It now has hundreds of followers, a lively WhatsApp group and has run very popular and successful events.

The page was set up by 32-year-old Steph Meagher who hoped to find others who were also considering their alcohol use. Speaking to Dublin Live, Steph said: “I was trying to cut down on alcohol as being drunk isn’t fun for me anymore and I can’t deal with the hangaxity so me and some of my friends were going on sober nights out often.”

"I found trying to be sober for the weekend and making plans with friends could be very isolating at times.”

Steph came across a similar Vancouver-based page run by another Irish girl called ‘Sober babes in Vancouver’ and she wanted to create something similar in Dublin and the surrounding counties.

Last month the group met for a hike in Bray Head and also ran a recent charity shop crawl in Dublin city centre. The WhatsApp group is also a great way for like-minded people to get in touch for advice or support.

Steph said to Dublin Live, “the group is not just for people who used to drink and are now sober, it's just about rethinking your relationship with alcohol, there’s kind of a problem in Ireland with a big drinking culture and I don’t struggle with alcohol addiction but binge drinking at the weekend was normal for me."

She added, “we don’t realise the toll alcohol takes on you physically and mentally as well as on your bank account.”