Study on alcohol's impact on GAA

ALMOST NINE in every 10 active GAA players who drink alcohol have experienced at least one harmful side-effect due to their drinking in the previous 12 months, newly published research has found.

The study of 960 playing members of the GAA shows more than 90 per cent of those surveyed are drinkers, with almost one-third drinking in excess of the recommended number of units a week. Some 54 per cent say they consume six or more standard drinks in a row at least once a week. These binge-drinkers were more likely to have experienced alcohol-related harm.

In what is believed to be the largest study to date of alcohol use among sportspeople in the Republic, researchers from Trinity College Dublin (TCD) and the Health Service Executive surveyed members of 39 GAA clubs in the northeast, all of whom were active players aged over 16.

Most were in their 20s, single and living at home. Published in the online medical journal BioMed Central Research Notes, the authors found a high proportion of drinkers were harmed by their drinking. Some 31 per cent had been in a fight, while almost a fifth had had an accident.

Just over one in 10 had to attend a hospital emergency department due to alcohol. Others reported drinking had affected studies or their job. After the initial survey, a comprehensive health promotion programme was put in place by the health promotion department of HSE Dublin North East.

This comprised alcohol and nutrition health education sessions for GAA players and mentors and a social marketing campaign in local sports media. The key health promotion messages focused on benefits to participants' health and sports performance of drinking less alcohol and making healthy lifestyle choices.

The Irish are the second-highest consumers of alcohol in the EU.